BV  1520  .L3  1905 
Lawrance,  Marion,  1850-1924 
How  to  conduct  a  Sunday 
school 


'"(^^ZC^^  ^:^^^.^^^'=^=-^^'^^=<^ 


HOW  TO  CONDUCT 
A  SUNDAY  SCHOOL 


Or 


Twenty  Eight  Years 
A    Superintendent 


MARION    LAWRANCE 

Six  years  General  Secretary  of  the  International  Sunday^  Schooi 
Association.  Ten  years  General  Secretary  of  the  Ohio  Sunday 
School  Association.  Twenty-eight  years  Superintendent  of  the 
Washington  Street  Congregational  Sunday  School,  Toledo,  Ohio 


New  York         Chicago         Toronto 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company 

London   and   Edinburgh 


Copyright,    1905,   by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  80  Wabash  Avenue 
Toronto:  27  Richmond  Street,  W. 
London:  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:      100    Princes    Street 


Introduction 

THIS  book  is  at  once  a  history  and  a  prophecy, 
— a  history  of  splendid  service  and  a  prophecy 
of  the  better  Sunday-school  that  is  to  be.  To 
the  greater  school  that's  coming  it  will  contribute  much 
of  practical  value  and  inspiration.  It  should  be  read  by 
every  Sunday-school  worker  everywhere. 

Mr.  Lawrance  has  the  unique  distinction  of  having  had 
over  thirty  years'  practical  experience  with  the  Sunday- 
school  problem,  at  first  Jiand,  during  an  era  of  remark- 
able development  in  methods,  literature,  ideals  and 
enrollment.  A  man's  theories  and  ideals  must  be  trans- 
muted into  concrete  realities  to  be  helpful.  The  world  is 
asking  of  him,  "  Can  he  do  it?"  Let  the  school  our 
brother  has  superintended  for  twenty-eight  years  make 
reply. 

Given,  a  growing  field,  in  a  typical  American  city,  with 
average  conditions  of  opportunity,  average  workers,  a  few 
strong  leaders,  genuine  and  common  difficulties,  together 
with  some  extraordinary  difficulties  peculiar  to  the  field, 
a  very  modest  and  always  inadequate  equipment,  se- 
cured by  striking  sacrifices, — given  these,  what  progress 
and  fruit  will  be  secured  by  the  Sunday-school?  The 
answer  is  threefold  ;  in  a  school  of  more  than  fourteen 
hundred  members,  in  the  lives  of  hundreds  who  have 
gone  out  to  noble  service,  and  in  the  workable  plans  de- 
veloped, which  have  become  the  common  and  precious 


8  Introduction 

property  of  the  Sunday-school  world.  It  is  an  instance, 
moreover,  where  magnificent  and  unselfish  leadership 
has  been  matched  by  magnificent  and  unselfish  coopera- 
tion. 

Add  to  these  years  of  close  touch  with  the  living 
school  and  its  problems,  the  unequalled  training  secured 
in  world-wide  travel,  by  a  close  and  clear-headed  observer 
of  Sunday-school  history,  tendencies,  methods  and  men, 
and  you  may  expect  in  these  pages  just  what  you  re- 
ceive,— facts,  plans,  inspiration,  power.  Ten  years'  serv- 
ice for  the  Sunday-school  in  the  commonwealth  of 
Ohio,  contact  with  the  great  leaders  of  Christian  work  in 
this  generation  in  all  denominations,  familiarity  with 
methods  which  in  every  state,  territory  and  province  of 
North  America  have  succeeded  or  failed,  personal  knowl- 
edge of  Sunday-school  work  in  England,  India,  Italy, 
Greece,  Egypt,  Syria  and  Palestine, — who  else  stands 
thus  upon  the  watch  tower  to  hail  for  us  the  coming 
day ! 

He  is  a  wise  worker  who  will  adapt  as  well  as  adopt 
what  he  reads.  These  pages  are  filled  with  details,  spe- 
cific and  practical,  for  which  a  host  of  workers  have 
longed  and  prayed.  The  book  gives  the  cream  of  life- 
long experience  and  observation.  It  will  become  a  text- 
book for  instruction  and  reference  in  many  a  Sunday- 
school,  institute,  assembly,  college  and  seminary.  In 
its  concrete  details,  lies  its  unique  and  practical  service. 

These  pages  are  likewise  remunerative  because  they 
are  from  the  big  heart  of  a  man  who  believes  in  the 
Church  as  an  institution,  and  whose  brotherly  coopera- 
tion is  a  mighty  asset  to  any  pastor.  We  love  him  niucJi, 
how  much  it  were  not  seemly  to  tell  here  J     Churches  are 


Introduction  9 

known  by  the  Sunday-schools  they  develop.  Sunday- 
schools  are  tested  by  the  church  life  they  foster.  Here 
is  a  man  with  an  idea,  the  Sunday-school  idea,  plus  the 
appreciation,  recognition,  and  love  for 

"  The  Church  our  blest  Redeemer  saved 
With  His  own  precious  blood." 

This  book  will  go  forth,  I  know,  with  the  prayers  and 
pride  of  our  Church  and  School,  and  of  its  pastor  who  for 
four  years  has  watched  the  working  and  seen  the  fruit  of 
the  plans  it  presents. 

Ernest  Bourner  Allen. 

Toledo,  February,  igo^. 

The  Washington  Street  Congregational  Church. 


The    Author's    Word 

FOR  over  twenty-eight  successive  years  it  has  been 
my  privilege,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  and  the  will 
of  my  brethren,  to  superintend  the  Sunday-school 
of  the  Washington  Street  Congregational  Church  of 
Toledo,  Ohio. 

They  have  been  years  of  much  joy  in  service  and  not  a 
few  heartaches,  of  successes  many  and  failures  more,  of 
blessed  fellowships  and  hallowed  memories.  Best  of  all, 
and  really  all  that  is  worth  recording,  they  have  been 
years  of  victory  for  God  in  the  salvation  of  souls,  many 
of  them  scattered  to  all  parts  of  the  land,  faithfully  work- 
ing for  Him. 

From  a  small  mission  school  of  about  a  hundred  mem- 
bers it  has  grown  slowly  and  steadily  to  a  membership  of 
over  fourteen  hundred. 

During  these  years  we  have  had  abundant  opportunity 
to  test  our  purpose,  patience  and  piety  ;  our  skill  as  well 
as  the  lack  of  it,  and  also  very  many  new  methods.  The 
school  has  come — partly  perhaps  through  my  public 
work — to  have  a  reputation  far  beyond  what  it  deserves. 
This  has  never  been  sought  for  it,  and  in  some  respects 
is  a  detriment  to  it. 

It  is  a  pleasure  to  say,  that  whatever  of  good  has  been 
accomplished,  has  been  made  possible,  under  God,  b)'  the 
loyal  support  and  faithful  cooperation  of  a  band  of  offi- 
cers and  teachers,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  in  num- 


The  Author's  Word  ii 

ber,  who  would  make  glad  the  heart  of  any  superin- 
tendent. 

The  school  has  always  emphasized  as  its  cardinal  prin- 
ciples :  — 

1.  Thorough  teaching  of  God's  Word. 

2.  The  salvation  of  souls, 

3.  Training  its  members  for  active  Christian  service. 

4.  The  world-wide  view  of  God's  Kingdom. 

5.  The  Church  a  home — full  of  joy  and  blessed  help- 
ful fellowship. 


This  book  is  born  of  these  twenty-eight  years  of  prac- 
tical experience,  and  the  wide  observation  made  possible 
by  my  relation  to  the  organized  Sunday-school  work, 
which  brings  me  into  constant  touch  with  the  choicest 
Sunday-schools  and  Sunday-school  workers  in  this  and 
other  lands. 

It  is  an  effort  to  help  Sunday-school  workers  every- 
where by  telling  them  in  a  plain,  simple  way  how  one 
school  actually  does  its  work,  and  how  the  principles  and 
methods  employed  may  be  used  by  others. 

Its  title,  chosen  by  the  publishers,  may  seem  to  be 
assuming :  it  simply  stands  for  the  way  to  conduct  a  Sun- 
day-school, as  I  have  learned  it  and  have  thought  that 
others  might  wish  to  know  it. 

Perhaps  some  who  read  the  book  will  not  find  that  for 
which  they  are  looking  ;  but  all  they  do  find  is  practical 
reality  and  not  mere  theory. 

It  has  been  undertaken  at  this  time  partly  because  of 
the  persistent  importunity  of  friends  innumerable  and 
publishers  not  a  few,  whose  estimate  of  the  value  of  such 


12  The  Author's  Word 

a  book  from  me  may  be  lessened  by  reading  its  pages. 
I  wish  it  was  more  worthy  of  its  name ;  but  I  have  done 
my  best.  I  can  do  no  more  than  to  continue  to  pray,  as 
I  have  done  so  often  during  its  preparation,  that  the 
Heavenly  Father  may  use  it  to  encourage  and  stimulate 
the  great  army  of  faithful  Sunday-school  workers  in  their 
matchless  labour  of  leading  the  world  to  God  through  the 
teaching  of  His  word  to  the  young. 

Toledo,  Ohio,  "June,  jc^oj. 


Contents 

I.  The  Sunday  School      -        -        -  -  iS 

II.  The  Sunday  School  Equipped       -        -        -  21 

III.  The  Sunday  School  Organized    -        -        -  36 

IV.  The  Sunday  School  Graded         -        -        -  44 

V.  The  Sunday  School  in  Session      -        -        -  54 

VI.  The  Pastor  and  the  Superintendent  -        -  6^ 

VII.  The  Officers  and  their  Duties     -        -        -  70 

VIII.  The  Teacher  and  his  Work          -        -        -  83 

IX.  The  Teachers'  Meeting        -        -        -        -  97 

X.  Installation  of  Officers  and  Teachers       -  112 

XI.  Methods  of  Securing  and  Holding  Members  119  v 

XII.  The  Public  Reception  of  New  Members        -  129 

XIII.  The  Sunday  School  Giving  -        -        -        -  133 

XIV.  Special  Occasions 142 

XV.  The  Honours  and  Rewards  -        -        -        -  161 
XVL  The  Sunday  School  Enjoying  Itself    -        -  167 

XVII.  The  Blackboard  and  Object  Teaching         -  179 

XVIII.  Fundamental  (Supplemental)  Lessons         -  193 

XIX.  Temperance  Day  and  How  to  use  It    -        -  197 

XX.  Decision  Day 206 

XXI.  The  Boys'  Messenger  Service       -        -        -  215 

XXII.  That  Big  Boy  and  How  to  Deal  with  Him  -  224 

Appendixes 

A.  A  Superintendent's  Suggestions  to  Himself  238 

B.  One    Hundred    Good    Books    for    Sunday 

School  Workers 253 

C.  My  Former  Pastors — An  Appreciation         -  265 

13 


How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday 
School 


THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL 

"  The  Sunday-school  is  the  noblest  development  of  the 
nineteenth  century."  The  Sunday-school  idea  is  many 
centuries  old  ;  but  what  we  call  the  modern  Sunday- 
school  is  comparatively  new.  It  did  not  originate  with 
Robert  Raikes,  but  it  certainly  was  he  who  "  put  the 
Sunday-school  upon  the  market." 

The  past  one  hundred  years  have  witnessed  the  spring- 
ing into  life  of  more  institutions  and  agencies  whose 
foundations  are  laid  in  the  teachings  of  Jesus  Christ  than 
all  the  preceding  centuries.  Free  public  schools,  libraries, 
the  religious  press,  the  temperance  movement,  hospitals, 
Bible  societies,  missionary  societies — both  home  and  for- 
eign,— the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  the  Sal- 
vation Army,  the  Student  Volunteer  Movement,  Young 
People's  Societies  and  the  Sunday-school,  all  are  com- 
paratively young,  and  "  the  greatest  of  these  is  the  Sun- 
day-school." 

Horace  Bushnell  and  Henry  Clay  Trumbull  were  great 
friends.  When  after  the  Civil  War,  Mr.  Trumbull  threw 
his  life  energies  into  Sunday-school  work,  his  friend 
Bushnell  asked  him  one  day,  if  he  did  not  think  he  was 
devoting  too  much  time  and  strength  to  the  Sunday- 
's 


l6         How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

school.  Mr.  Trumbull  replied  that  he  did  not  think  so. 
Years  afterwards,  Mr.  Bushnell  referring  to  this  conver- 
sation said, 

"  Trumbull,  you  knew  better  than  I  did  where  the 
Lord  wanted  you.  I  honestly  thought  the  pulpit  was  a 
bigger  place  for  you,  and  I  tried  to  get  you  into  it.  But 
now  I've  come  to  see  that  the  work  you  are  doing  is  the 
greatest  work  in  the  world."  And  after  a  moment's 
pause  he  added,  "  Sometimes  I  think  it's  the  only  work 
there  is  in  the  world."  ^ 

The  imperial  rank  of  the  Sunday-school  in  the  com- 
munity of  Christian  enterprises  is  no  longer  questioned 
by  those  who  observe  and  think. 

"  In  many  respects  the  Sunday-school  is  a  modern  in- 
stitution. It  is  a  vast  improvement  on  the  past  and  is 
one  of  the  phenomenal  products  of  Christ,  worthy  of 
universal  recognition  as  the  most  flexible,  adaptable  and 
far-reaching  institution  ever  yet  devised  for  the  conver- 
sion of  the  world."  ^ 

So  long  as  it  means  more  to  the  Kingdom  of  God  on 
earth  to  win  a  boy  for  Christian  service  than  it  does  to 
win  a  man,  just  so  long  will  the  importance  of  the  Sun- 
day-school be  recognized  and  appreciated. 

Not  understood.  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  however,  the 
Sunday-school  is  not  so  generally  understood  as  it  should 
be.  There  are  many  who  still  look  upon  it  as  the 
"Children's  Church,"  as  the  "  Nursery  of  the  Church," 
as  an  "  Institution."  Strictly  speaking,  it  is  none  of 
these  ;  and  yet  it  is  all  of  them.  It  is  not  an  institution 
separate  and  apart  from  the  church  itself.     Christ  came 

1  «  My  Four  Religious  Teachers,"  p.  loi. 
'"The  Pastor  and  Sunday-school,"  p.  29. 


The  Sunday  School  17 

into  the  world  to  plant  a  church  and  not  a  Sunday- 
school.  There  is  but  one  church  for  all  and  not  separate 
churches  for  the  adults  and  the  children.  While  the 
Sunday-school  is  in  a  sense  the  nursery  of  the  church,  the 
idea  of  childhood  implied  in  that  expression  has  done 
more  to  retard  the  progress  and  growth  of  the  Sunday- 
school  than  any  other  one  thing.  The  Sunday-school  is 
no  more  for  children  than  it  is  for  gray  haired  men  and 
women. 

The  Sunday-school  is  the  Bible-sUidying-and-teaching 
service  of  the  church. 

Since  it  is  a  service  of  the  church,  all  the  church  should 
be  there.  It  is  as  incumbent  upon  church  members  to 
attend  the  service  of  their  church  when  it  meets  to  study 
the  Bible  in  the  Sunday-school,  as  it  is  to  attend  when  it 
meets  to  hear  the  pastor  preach.  It  is  estimated  that 
only  one  church  member  in  five  in  the  United  States  is 
found  in  the  Sunday-school.  Nothing,  aside  from  a 
miraculous  blessing  from  heaven,  would  do  the  Sunday- 
schools  of  our  country  so  much  good,  as  for  all  church 
members,  who  are  able  to  do  so,  to  identify  themselves 
with  the  Sunday-schools  of  their  own  churches. 

Since  the  Sunday-school  is  a  Bidle-stwdymg  service, 
all  who  attend  should  have  their  own  Bibles.  Lesson 
helps  will  be  used  exactly  as  they  were  meant  to  be  used, 
in  the  preparation  of  the  lesson  at  home  and  not  in  the 
teaching  process  in  the  school.  There  is  an  influence 
for  good  in  simply  carrying  the  Book  itself  upon  the 
street. 

Since  the  Sunday-school  is  a  studying  service,  the 
building  and  equipment  should  be  adapted  to  its  use. 
Great  reforms  and  changes  are  going  on  in  this  direction 


l8         How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

now,  and  we  may  hope  for  some  splendid  developments 
in  the  near  future.  This  subject,  however,  is  treated 
more  fully  in  the  chapter  on  Equipment. 

Since  the  Sunday-school  is  a  teaching  service,  the 
teachers  should  be  competent  and  specially  trained  for 
their  work.  We  believe  the  day  will  come  when  all  who 
teach  in  the  Sunday-school  will  be  expected  to  take  some 
special  training  for  their  work,  such  as  one  of  the  teacher- 
training  courses  now  so  numerous  and  comprehensive. 
In  some  schools  no  teachers  are  selected  except  those 
who  hold  diplomas  indicating  that  they  have  completed 
such  a  course.  This  is  far  in  advance  of  the  average 
school  no  doubt,  but  is  an  ideal  worth  aiming  at.  Horace 
Mann,  the  great  educator,  said  on  one  occasion,  "  The 
only  way  to  get  good  teachers  is  to  make  them."  He 
referred  to  public  school-teachers,  but  it  is  equally  true  of 
Sunday-school  teachers.  There  should  be  therefore  in 
continuous  operation  in  every  Sunday-school  a  vigorous 
training  class  where  young  people  may  be  trained  under 
competent  leadership  for  the  important  ofifice  of  teaching. 

The  Sunday-school  is  a  mi^iy  force  in  the  world ;  but 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  Church  it  is  a  field,  a  ripe 
field,  white  to  the  harvest.  From  the  best  statistics  we 
are  able  to  gather,  we  discover  that  from  two-thirds  to 
three-fourths  of  the  additions  to  all  of  our  churches  by 
conversion  come  through  the  Sunday-school.  Dr.  John 
Clifford,  of  London,  sets  the  figures  as  high  as  five-sixths. 
Certain  it  is  that  the  church  which  pays  easy-going  at- 
tention to  its  Sunday-school,  failing  to  support  it,  nourish 
it,  care  for  it  and  man  it  as  it  should,  is  neglecting  its 
most  promising  opportunity  and  can  hope  for  but  meagre 
results. 


The  Sunday  School  19 

The  Sunday-school  should  be  under  the  direct  man- 
agement and  control  of  the  church.  It  in  turn  should 
be  loyal  to  the  church  and  to  the  denomination  whose 
name  it  bears.  Its  aim  should  be,  to  lead  the  scholars 
through  an  intelligent  study  of  God's  Word  to  give  their 
hearts  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  then  to  unite  with  the  church 
to  which  the  school  belongs. 

The  Sunday-school  is  receiving  more  attention  to-day 
from  men  of  thought  and  learning  than  ever  in  the  past. 
It  now  has  a  literature  distinctly  its  own  which  has  been 
produced  by  the  most  discerning  minds  and  able  advo- 
cates. It  is  worth  all  the  best  endeavour  of  God's 
choicest  men  and  women.  While  the  Sunday-school  is 
for  the  old  and  young  alike,  the  fact  remains  that  its 
chief  attraction  and  promise  is  because  here  we  find  the 
children  and  youth,  and  it  is  through  them  that  the 
world  is  to  be  won  for  God.  "  Childhood  is  the  battle- 
ground of  the  kingdom." 

We  must  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  however  that  the 
Sunday-school  is  a  training  ground  for  the  church,  and 
that  it  is  adapted  to  the  needs  of  men  and  women  in  the 
midst  of  life's  busy  days.  Indeed  the  adult  department 
is  commanding  the  attention  of  many  of  the  foremost 
men  and  women  of  the  world. 

It  is  in  the  Sunday-school  that  we  find  the  unconverted 
in  larger  numbers  than  in  any  other  service  of 
the  church.  It  is  here  we  find  them  also  at  the  most 
favourable  time  of  their  lives.  It  is  here  we  find  the 
workers,  the  best  trained  workers  of  the  church,  and  in 
larger  numbers  than  in  any  other  department  of  church 
work.  It  is  here  we  find  the  open  Word  of  God  ;  and  it 
is  here  we  find  results  in  a  more  satisfactory  degree  than 


20         How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

elsewhere.  Surely  we  may  say  with  Dr.  Mullins,  of 
Louisville,  president  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Theological 
Seminary,  "  The  Sunday-school  is  in  the  centre  of  the  bat- 
tle line'' 


II 

THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  EQUIPPED 

Equipment  does  not  make  a  good  Sunday-school,  for 
the  same  reason  that  a  Hbrary  does  not  make  a  good 
scholar,  nor  a  tool-chest  a  good  mechanic.  Suitable 
equipment,  however,  is  a  great  help.  The  gun  may  be 
capable  of  doing  wonderful  execution,  but  without  the 
man  behind  it,  it  is  but  a  useless  piece  of  metal.  Some 
men  would  have  a  better  Sunday-school  in  a  bare  room 
lacking  all  modern  equipment  than  others  would  have 
with  the  most  elaborately  equipped  building.  At  the 
outset  of  this  chapter  a  cautionary  signal  must  be  raised 
lest  our  readers  over-estimate  the  value  of  equipment. 
Method  and  machinery  are  good ;  but  men  thoroughly 
imbued  with  the  Sunday-school  idea,  whose  hearts  are  on 
fire  with  a  consuming  desire  to  reach  results  are  better ; 
more,  they  are  indispensable  if  results  are  to  be  achieved. 
However,  we  must  remember  that  even  though  the  wheat 
grown  by  our  grandfathers  was  well  cared  for  by  the  use 
of  the  sickle  and  the  flail,  nevertheless  the  modern  reaper 
and  thresher  not  only  produce  quicker  and  better  results, 
but  infinitely  larger  results  as  well.  Naturally,  the  first 
subject  to  consider  in  the  matter  of  equipment  is 

The  Building.  Even  if  the  building  committees  of 
the  older  churches  ever  contemplated  the  needs  of  the 
Sunday-school,  they  certainly  did  not  seriously  concern 
themselves  with  the  matter  of  its  convenience.  In  those 
days  the  school  had  no  rights  in  the  church,  and  the 

21 


22  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

church  no  responsibilities  to  the  school.  However,  we 
are  glad  to  say  that  that  day  is  rapidly  passing,  and 
building  committees  now  give  attention  to  the  housing 
and  the  equipment  of  the  school.  But  too  much  re- 
sponsibility must  not  be  placed  upon  either  the  architect 
or  building  committee,  for  even  among  leaders  in  Sunday- 
school  matters  there  is  wide  difference  of  opinion  as  to 
the  details  of  what  constitutes  a  properly  constructed 
Sunday-school  building.  TJie  Sunday- ScJiool  Times  in 
an  article  some  years  ago  said  this  :  •'  The  distinguishing 
and  necessary  features  of  an  up-to-date  Sunday-school 
room  are  separativeness  and  togetherativeness."  We 
presume  all  are  practically  agreed  as  to  this,  but  certainly 
not  all  are  agreed  as  to  the  details  of  carrying  it  out. 
The  idea  of  the  article  referred  to  (which  was  afterwards 
put  into  booklet  form)  was  that  a  Sunday-school  room 
should  be  so  arranged  that  the  departments  could  be 
separated  one  from  another  when  necessary,  and  yet  all 
thrown  together  in  one  large  room  when  desired.  This 
is  actually  done  now  in  some  Sunday-schools  by  the 
automatic  raising  and  lowering  of  partitions  manipulated 
and  directed  from  the  superintendent's  desk,  and  in  such 
a  way  that  the  school  can  be  separated  into  departments, 
or  all  thrown  together  at  the  will  of  the  superintendent, 
without  any  one  moving  his  seat.  It  is  quite  im- 
possible here  to  do  more  than  to  make  a  few  general 
suggestions,  referring  our  readers  to  those  architects,  of 
whom  there  are  many,  who  are  now  making  a  specialty 
of  this  style  of  building.  The  ideal  Sunday-school  build- 
ing has  probably  not  yet  been  erected,  though  there  are 
very  many  which  approximate  closely  to  it,  and  are 
really  ideal  in  the  minds  of  those  who  planned  them. 


The  Sunday  School  Equipped  23 

A  Sunday-school  building  should  be  built  from  the 
inside  out  and  not  from  the  outside  in ;  that  is  to  say,  the 
first  consideration  should  be  the  securing  of  convenient 
quarters  for  the  school,  no  matter  what  shape  this  may 
give  to  the  outside  of  the  building,  rather  than  designing 
a  building  for  its  architectural  effect  on  the  passer-by, 
while  the  Sunday-school  room  is  made  to  fit  inside  of  it 
somewhere.  However,  these  two  qualifications  of  at- 
tractiveness and  adaptability  are  not  inconsistent  with 
each  other.  There  are  many  handsomer  buildings 
architecturally  than  the  First  Methodist  Church  Building 
of  Akron,  Ohio,  and  yet  within  it  is  the  famous  Sunday- 
school  room  where  that  prince  of  Sunday-school  super- 
intendents, the  late  Lewis  Miller,  presided  so  long  and 
successfully  over  his  school,  the  school  which  has  made 
all  the  world  familiar  with  "  The  Akron  Plan." 

Do  not  make  a  basement  Sunday-school  room  if  you 
can  possibly  avoid  it.  The  late  William  Reynolds  used 
to  say,  and  correctly,  too,  that,  "  A  basement  Sunday- 
school  room  is  a  debasement  to  the  Sunday-school  idea." 
The  building  should  be  ample  in  size  so  that  when  the 
whole  school  is  assembled  it  shall  not  appear  crowded. 
The  ceiling  should  be  high,  and  plenty  of  good  venti- 
lation should  be  provided.  The  walls  should  be  taste- 
fully decorated  and  the  whole  building  made  as  beautiful 
and  attractive  as  possible.  Pictures,  flowers  and  other 
ornaments,  and  even  a  fountain,  if  it  can  be  secured,  will 
add  much  to  the  attractiveness  of  the  room.  The  plat- 
form ought  to  be  quite  large,  and  it  should  be  situated  so 
that  everybody  can  hear  and  see  the  speaker.  It  would 
be  well  to  have  a  large  blackboard  built  into  the  wall  at 
the  rear  of  the  platform.     Above  the  platform,  in  a  case 


24  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

made  for  the  purpose,  should  be  placed  such  maps  and 
charts  as  are  designed  for  use  by  the  whole  school. 
Do  not  place  your  orchestra  or  musical  instruments  on 
the  platform  where  they  will  interfere  with  the  use  of  the 
blackboard  or  charts.  Some  fine  buildings  make  pro- 
vision for  the  orchestra  and  other  musical  instruments  in 
a  small  gallery  above  the  platform  on  the  same  floor  with 
the  main  gallery. 

The  Main  Room.  So  far  as  possible  this  room  should 
be  arranged  so  that  the  superintendent,  standing  in  his 
place  on  the  platform,  has  every  corner  of  it  in  plain 
sight.  All  the  class  rooms  and  department  rooms  should 
open  into  it. 

Department  Rooms.  The  primary  department  should 
be  separated  from  the  main  school  and  in  a  room  of  its 
own.  We  like  the  plan  of  placing  the  primary  room  so 
that  by  the  use  of  sliding  doors  or  partitions  they  may  be 
thrown  into  the  room  with  the  main  school.  If  this  is 
done,  however,  the  partitions  should  be  of  such  a  char- 
acter as  to  permit  singing,  and  any  other  exercises  es- 
pecially adapted  to  the  primary  department,  going  on 
without  disturbing  other  classes.  Such  partitions  should 
also  be  made  of  wood  and  not  of  glass,  so  that  one  part 
of  the  school  may  not  see  the  other.  There  is  a  growing 
sentiment  in  favour  of  separating  the  primaries  entirely, 
giving  them  a  room  that  cannot  in  any  way  be  opened 
into  the  main  school.  This  idea  we  think  is  correct  so 
far  as  the  regular  work  of  the  school  is  concerned,  but 
when  it  becomes  desirable  on  special  occasions  to  bring 
the  whole  school  together,  the  primary  department 
usually  cannot  be  so  comfortably  seated  as  if  their  own 
room    opened   into   the  main  room.     If  possible  there 


The  Sunday  School  Equipped  25 

should  also  be  separate  rooms  for  the  beginners'  depart- 
ment, the  junior  department  and  senior  department,  and 
indeed  it  is  desirable  to  have  separate  department  rooms 
for  all  the  departments  whenever  this  is  possible.  The 
department,  however,  which  ordinarily  remains  in  the 
middle  of  the  main  building,  is  the  intermediate,  though 
we  have  an  idea  that  it  would  be  better  to  have  the  in- 
termediates in  a  room,  and  place  older  scholars  in  the  cen- 
ter of  the  auditorium.  Each  room  should  be  fitted  up  for 
the  department  which  is  to  occupy  it.  Those  in  charge  of 
the  various  departments  will  recognize  at  once  what 
equipment  is  necessary  in  their  particular  rooms.  The 
smaller  the  scholars,  the  more  need  of  making  the  room 
attractive. 

It  may  be  said  that  a  new  idea  in  Sunday-school  archi- 
tecture is  gaining  in  favour,  and  has  its  highest  concrete 
expression,  so  far  as  the  writer  is  aware,  in  the  building 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  East  Liberty,  Pa.  It  is  built 
upon  the  principle  that  the  Sunday-school  is  a  school,  and 
not  a  mass  meeting.  All  departments  have  separate 
rooms  adapted  to  their  use  and  so  arranged  that  no  two 
of  the  departments  can  meet  together,  except  on  special 
occasions  when  they  all  go  into  the  auditorium  of  the 
church.  The  principle  is  pedagogically  correct ;  but  the 
Sunday-school  is  more  than  a  school  of  instruction  and 
this  new  feature  of  architecture — except  for  a  few  large 
aggressive  schools — will  receive  slow  adoption. 

Class  Rooms.  It  is  doubtful  if  any  of  the  money  spent 
on  Sunday-school  buildings  pays  better  on  the  investment 
than  that  which  is  put  into  class  rooms.  It  is  impossible 
for  teachers  to  do  their  best  work,  and  indeed  often  im- 
possible for  them  to  do  any  satisfactory  work  at  all,  when 


26  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

the  classes  are  crowded  together  in  one  room  and  seated 
close  to  each  other,  as  is  the  case  in  many  of  our  church 
buildings.  A  teacher  who  finds  difficulty  in  controlling 
and  teaching  seven  scholars  in  an  open  room,  would 
handle  twenty,  and  do  better  work,  if  they  had  a  room  to 
themselves.  Consequently  it  is  well  to  provide  just  as 
many  class  rooms  as  possible  in  the  main  room,  and  in 
the  department  rooms  as  well.  Many  except  the  pri- 
mary from  this  rule ;  but  even  here  it  will  work  to  ad- 
vantage. 

The  Seating.  Without  doubt  movable  chairs  make 
the  best  seating  for  a  Sunday-school ;  ordinary  church 
pews  should  never  be  used  if  it  can  be  avoided.  Settees  with 
reversible  backs  are  much  better ;  but  they  are  not  so 
good  as  chairs,  because  it  is  impossible  to  make  this  kind 
of  a  seat  as  comfortable  as  a  chair.  Then,  chairs  have  a 
distinct  advantage,  especially  with  children,  in  providing 
individual  seats.  By  their  use  it  is  possible  to  avoid 
crowding  and  some  of  the  other  evils  which  arise  from 
placing  children  too  close  together.  The  chairs  should 
be  large  enough  to  be  comfortable  and  low  enough  so 
that  the  occupants  can  rest  their  feet  squarely  upon  the 
floor.  This  will  require  at  least  two  or  three  sizes  of 
chairs.  There  should  be  a  difference,  if  possible,  between 
the  beginners'  chairs  and  the  primary  chairs.  The  chairs 
should  be  pretty ;  they  are  usually  painted  in  bright  col- 
ours because  the  children  like  them  so. 

The  Officers'  Furniture.  The  superintendent  should 
have  a  desk  of  his  own,  and  if  possible  in  a  room  of  his 
own,  in  which  he  may  keep  all  the  material  which  he 
desires  for  his  own  special  use.  All  the  other  officers  of 
the  main  school,  and  of  the  departments  as  well,  should 


The  Sunday  School  Equipped  27 

have  such  tables  and  desks  as  they  need  to  enable  them 
to  do  their  work  well.  It  costs  a  little  money  to  provide 
this  furniture ;  but  it  pays  in  the  long  run.  Each  officer 
can  keep  his  books,  reports,  and  all  his  material  in  tidy 
shape,  and  as  a  result  the  work  will  be  better  done. 

Class  Tables.  Some  furniture  houses  now  make 
tables  for  this  purpose  and  they  are  very  desirable.  The 
tables  should  not  be  very  large,  perhaps  twenty  to 
twenty-four  inches  by  about  twenty-four  or  thirty  inches, 
with  a  deep  drawer  which  can  be  locked.  In  this  drawer 
should  be  placed  all  the  property  of  the  class,  such  as 
song  books,  cards,  etc.,  etc.  I  know  of  one  school  where 
the  tables  are  made  with  one  leg  only  and  this  fits  into  a 
socket  in  the  floor.  When  they  are  removed  to  the 
closet  where  they  are  kept  during  the  week,  the  room  is 
clear  for  other  meetings.  This  would  be  true,  however, 
of  ordinary  tables,  and  they  could  be  used  for  other 
things  ;  consequently  we  prefer  them. 

Class  Boxes.  Class-boxes  are  next  in  value.  The 
boxes  for  a  given  department  should  be  uniform  in  size 
and  iitted  into  a  neat  case  from  and  to  which  they  should 
be  taken  by  the  teacher  or  some  member  of  the  class, 
before  the  school  begins  and  at  its  close.  Each  box 
should  be  marked  with  the  number  or  name  of  the  class 
and  should  contain  all  of  the  class  belongings.  The  ad- 
vantage of  class-tables  and  boxes  is  that  the  time  of  dis- 
tributing song  books  and  supplies  is  saved  at  the  opening 
of  the  school,  and  the  scattering  of  cards  and  papers 
about  the  floor  is  avoided. 

Blackboards.  I  would  about  as  soon  think  of  con- 
ducting a  school  without  music  as  without  blackboards. 
They  are  useful  for  so  many  things.     There  should  be  a 


28  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

good  board  in  the  main  room  as  indicated  above,  built 
into  the  wall  if  possible.  The  same  is  true  of  every  de- 
partment room.  Then  there  should  also  be  a  blackboard 
in  every  class-room.  Of  course  the  best  board  is  one 
built  into  the  wall,  because  it  takes  no  room  and  is  always 
in  place.  However,  the  revolving  boards  now  sold  by 
various  Sunday-school  supply  houses  are  very  fine  indeed 
and  quite  inexpensive.  The  blackboards  will  be  useful 
not  only  in  reviewing  the  lesson  but  in  teaching  in  the 
various  classes,  also  in  the  teachers'  meeting,  while  they 
may  be  used  in  announcing  the  hymns  and  in  may  other 
ways.  It  is  surprising  to  see  how  many  Sunday- 
schools  are  able  to  get  along  without  a  blackboard, 
and  in  many  churches  it  is  a  rare  thing  to  find  a  good 
one. 

Lap-blackboards  are  now  provided,  about  two  feet 
square,  and  are  very  valuable  for  some  purposes  though 
they  soil  the  clothes  of  those  who  use  them.^ 

Wall  Maps.  Every  Sunday-school  should  have  at 
least  three  good,  large  sized  wall-maps,  one  of  Palestine, 
one  of  all  the  Bible  lands,  and  another  of  Paul's  mission- 
ary journeys.  Other  maps  are  desirable,  but  these  will 
answer.  If  I  could  add  but  one  more  map,  it  would  be  a 
missionary  map  of  the  world  showing  especially  where 
the  denomination  to  which  the  school  belongs  has  its 
mission  stations.  It  is  economy  to  buy  good  maps  and 
it  will  pay  to  get  those  attached  to  spring  rollers  so  that 
they  can  be  rolled  up  out  of  the  way.  A  map  hung  on 
the  wall  soon  gathers  dust,  becomes  unsightly,  gets  torn 
and  cracked,  and  is  finally  thrown  away  before  it  has 
served  its  day  of  usefulness. 

1  See  Appendix  for  books  on  the  use  of  the  blackboard. 


The  Sunday  School  Equipped  29 

If  the  teachers'  meetings  are  held  in  a  separate  room 
there  should  be  also  a  set  of  maps  there,  though  they 
need  not  be  quite  so  large.  Money  spent  in  good  maps 
is  well  invested.  In  buying  maps  avoid  those  with  such 
a  quantity  of  detail  as  to  obscure  the  more  important 
features.  A  relief  map  of  Palestine  is  desirable  for 
closer  study  and  should  be  placed  in  the  teachers'  meet- 
ing room  rather  than  in  the  main  room. 

Sand  Map.  Most  primary  teachers  attach  much  value 
to  a  sand  map,  and  it  is  certainly  very  interesting  to 
children,  and  even  to  older  scholars  as  well.  Many 
primary  workers  who  do  not  now  have  sand  maps  would 
have  them  if  they  knew  how  easily  they  can  be  con- 
structed, and  how  inexpensive  they  are.  The  following 
suggestions  are  given  for  the  benefit  of  any  who  may  de- 
sire to  make  one. 

Have  a  carpenter  make  the  wooden  frame  as  follows : 
it  should  be  about  two-thirds  as  wide  as  it  is  long ;  a  good 
size  for  a  small  map  would  be  two  feet  wide  and  three 
feet  long.  The  bottom  should  be  constructed  of  plain 
boards — pine  is  better  because  it  is  light.  Around  the 
edge  of  the  board  should  be  a  frame  made  of  half-inch 
strips  nailed  to  the  edge  and  projecting  about  an  inch  and 
a  half  above  it.  Then  have  a  tinner  cover  the  whole 
upper  surface  with  zinc.  If  the  zinc  is  allowed  to  cover 
the  entire  bottom  and  run  up  over  the  edges  it  will  make 
it  all  the  stronger.  Having  secured  this,  all  you  need  in 
addition  is  a  pail  full  of  moulder's  sand.  This  is  perfectly 
clean  and  not  at  all  disagreeable  to  handle.  When 
through  using  the  sand  map,  place  the  sand  back  in  the 
pail,  as  it  will  keep  moist  better  there  and  will  not  gather 
so  much  dirt.     A  very  little  water  will  keep  the  sand 


30  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

sufficiently  moist.  Some  very  small  square  blocks  of 
several  sizes,  painted  white,  will  answer  very  well  for 
houses.  The  zinc  does  not  look  unlike  water  and  will 
answer  very  well  in  its  natural  colour  for  rivers  and  lakes 
by  simply  removing  the  sand  where  you  wish  these 
natural  features  to  be.  A  sand  map,  if  properly  made,  is 
really  a  relief  map  and  often  serves  to  make  the  teaching 
of  the  lesson  more  vivid. 

Charts.  There  are  various  charts  illustrating  the  Bible 
nowadays  which  are  very  helpful.  There  are  quite  a 
number  of  the  Life  of  Christ  but  the  one  which  renders 
us  the  best  service  is  designed  by  George  P.  Perry  and  is 
entitled  "  The  Life  of  Christ."  There  are  charts  also  pre- 
pared for  the  purpose  of  guiding  in  the  chronological 
study  of  the  Bible.  While  these  are  all  desirable  the 
blackboard  can  be  used  in  their  place.  Home-made 
charts  are  always  available  and  are  often  the  best  for 
many  purposes. 

Musical  Instruments.  If  musical  instruments  are  used 
at  all  it  is  well  to  have  one  not  only  in  the  main  room  but 
one  also  in  the  primary  room  and  one  in  each  other  de- 
partment room  where  singing  is  desired.  For  a  moderate 
sized  room  a  piano  is  more  desirable  than  an  organ, 
though  either  answers  the  purpose. 

Bibles.  Every  member  of  the  school  who  is  old 
enough  to  read  the  Bible  should  bring  his  own  from 
home  and  use  it  in  the  class.  It  is  well,  however,  for  the 
church  to  have  a  supply  of  Bibles  so  that  every  person 
can  have  one  for  his  individual  use. 

Song  Books.  The  only  suggestion  we  have  to  offer 
under  this  head  is  that  there  should  be  plenty  of  song- 
books.     When  two  or  three  are  obliged  to  sing  from  one 


The  Sunday  School  Equipped  31 

book  disorder  is  created  and  good  singing  is  not  easily- 
secured.  Having  selected  the  book  you  want,  get  plenty 
of  them.     Get  the  best  book  you  can. 

The  Teachers'  Library.  Most  Sunday-school  workers 
are  coming  to  agree  that  a  few  well  selected  books  in  a 
teachers'  library  are  more  desirable  than  a  larger  library 
for  the  scholars,  though  both  are  valuable.  Some 
churches  have  what  they  call  "  The  Teachers'  Retreat," 
a  room  set  apart  for  the  teachers,  containing  a  teachers' 
library  with  reference  books,  and  all  other  helps.  All 
teachers  have  access  to  the  room  at  any  time.  For  a 
good  list  of  books  to  put  into  a  teachers'  library,  see 
Appendix. 

General  Library.  There  is  a  wide  difference  of 
opinion  as  to  the  value  of  a  general  library  for  the  use  of 
the  scholars,  though  many  schools  have  them  and  would 
not  give  them  up.  There  is  a  right  way  and  a  wrong 
way  to  manage  a  library.  The  wrong  way  is  to  start  the 
library  going,  fill  it  up  with  a  lot  of  new  books,  and 
then  pay  no  attention  to  it,  except  to  hand  out  the  books 
as  desired,  and  credit  them  when  they  are  returned,  until 
at  length  the  new  books  are  worn  out  and  all  interest  in 
the  library  is  gone. 

The  right  way  is  to  have  a  permanent  library  com- 
mittee who  are  on  the  watch  all  the  time  for  new  and 
suitable  books,  having  at  their  disposal  continually  a 
given  sum  of  money  for  this  purpose.  If  the  money 
will  enable  them  to  put  in  one  new  book  a  week,  that  is 
the  way  to  do  it.  Books  ought  not  to  be  placed  in  a 
library  in  large  quantities  at  a  time.  In  the  average 
Sunday-school  of  two  to  three  hundred  members  one 
new  book  a  week  will  keep  the  library  alive  indefinitely. 


32  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

This  book  should  be  selected  with  care,  and  its  title 
announced  in  the  school  by  the  superintendent  on  the 
Sunday  on  which  it  is  placed  in  the  library.  As  soon  as 
books  become  worn,  either  have  them  repaired  or  dis- 
carded. To  continue  to  give  out  books  that  are  worn, 
and  have  some  pages  missing  and  others  torn,  is  to  dis- 
count your  library  and  give  the  impression  that  it  is  not 
of  much  value. 

Perhaps  the  best  way  to  keep  track  of  the  books  is  by 
the  card  system  commonly  in  use,  I  would  not  have 
the  books  exchanged  on  Sunday  if  I  could  help  it,  and 
if  it  must  be  done  on  Sunday  it  should  not  be  done  dur- 
ing the  school  hour.  There  is,  however,  very  little,  if 
any,  time  lost  by  having  the  scholars  deposit  the  books 
they  return  as  they  enter  the  building, — having  indicated 
on  the  card  the  books  they  wish  to  draw, — and  securing 
these  books  as  they  start  to  their  homes.  I  would  not 
distribute  the  books  during  the  school  hour  at  all. 

Some  reliable  publishing  houses  are  now  furnishing 
circulating  libraries  which  a  school  may  use  for  a  time 
and  return,  or  exchange  some  books  for  others.  This 
is  a  capital  idea  and  especially  adapted  to  small  schools. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  have  all  the  books  of  a  purely 
religious  character,  though  they  ought  to  be  clean, 
moral,  uplifting  and  suited  to  children  and  young  people. 
Nearly  all  dealers  in  library  books  now  send  out  cata- 
logues, and  some  send  out  books  themselves  from  which 
to  make  selections.  Care  should  be  taken  to  select 
books  that  are  adapted  to  the  different  departments  and 
ages.^ 

^  The  Sunday  School  TvnesviSW.  furnish  good  lists  of  books,  as  will  also 
the  denominational  publishing  houses;  likewise,  W,  A.  Wilde  &   Co., 


The  Sunday  School  Equipped  33 

Cabinets.  Small  cabinet  cases  built  into  the  wall  or 
fastened  to  it  in  various  parts  of  the  room,  containing 
articles  from  Bible-lands  are  very  helpful.  By  way  of 
illustration,  I  know  of  one  Sunday-school  having  per- 
haps a  dozen  such  cabinets  in  various  parts  of  the  build- 
ing. One  of  them  contains  stuffed  birds  from  the  Holy 
Land  ;  others,  samples  of  grain  ;  others,  different  articles 
of  wearing  apparel ;  others,  samples  of  woods,  and  so 
on.  It  is  very  desirable,  if  possible,  to  have  such 
articles  as  phylacteries,  pieces  of  sack-cloth,  etc.,  includ- 
ing possibly  a  "  Joseph's  coat."  There  are  a  number 
of  reliable  concerns  which  deal  in  these  Oriental 
articles. 

A  Reading  Rooni.  Many  city  churches  are  now  es- 
tablishing reading-rooms  which  are  supphed  with  current 
literature,  including  newspapers  and  magazines.  Where 
this  can  be  done,  under  proper  direction  and  control,  it 
is  a  very  desirable  thing.  If  allowed  to  run  itself,  how- 
ever, it  will  soon  run  out  or  "  into  the  ground."  If  the 
reading-room  could  be  conducted  in  connection  with  the 
library,  it  would  be  the  best  solution  of  the  problem  of 
both  reading-room  and  library.  Some  churches  are  do- 
ing this  and  find  it  greatly  to  their  advantage.  The 
reading-room  should  be  open  on  week-day  afternoons 
after  school,  and  in  the  evening,  also  all  day  on  Saturday, 
and  in  the  care  of  some  one  whose  authority  will  be  re- 
spected by  those  who  gather  there. 

Boston  ;  Fleming  H.  Revell  Co.,  New  York  and  Chicago ;  The  Temple 
Library,  Philadelphia ;  the  Church  Library  Association,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Two  booklets  will  repay  for  their  reading,  viz. :  "  Strengthening  the  Sun- 
day-school Library,"  Elizabeth  L.  Foote.  "  How  the  Librarian  may 
make  the  Sunday-school  Library  more  useful  to  the  school." 


34         How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

An  Amusement  Room.  This  may  be  operated  in 
connection  with  the  reading-room,  though  it  should  not 
be  in  the  same  room,  but  rather  adjoining  it.  Great  care 
must  be  used  in  its  managment  or  it  will  become  a  place 
for  boisterousness  and  disorder.  Properly  selected  games 
of  various  kinds  with  suitable  tables  and  conveniences 
for  engaging  in  them,  will  go  far  towards  keeping  some 
boys  away  from  the  places  where  they  will  learn  only  evil. 
Both  reading-room  and  amusement  room  should  be  closed 
by  nine  o'clock  at  night. 

The  Bell.  In  some  Sunday-schools  the  bell  is  greatly 
overworked.  Ordinarily  its  use  is  wholly  unnecessary  to 
secure  order  but  is  very  desirable  for  the  purpose  of  giv- 
ing signals  of  various  kinds.  Large  buildings  with  a 
number  of  rooms  often  have  a  system  of  electric  bells 
in  the  various  rooms  and  at  the  doors  to  give  signals  to 
the  department  superintendents  and  door  men.  If  a 
signal  from  the  bell  is  used  for  the  purpose  of  securing 
order,  never  repeat  the  signal ;  give  it  once  and  then 
wait  until  order  is  secured.  If  you  ring  the  bell  twice 
for  order  to-day,  you  will  have  to  ring  it  three  times  next 
Sunday.     Spare  the  bell. 

The  Flag.  Every  Sunday-school  should  teach  patriot- 
ism, therefore  it  is  a  good  thing  to  have  the  flag  of  the 
country  displayed  at  every  session  of  the  school,  and 
occasionally  to  sing  patriotic  hymns  and  call  attention  to 
the  flag.  Certainly  the  national  emblem  should  be  in 
evidence  at  all  public  gatherings.  A  Sunday-school 
that  is  not  producing  good  citizens  is  not  producing 
Christians. 

Other  Equipment.  There  are  many  other  articles 
which   are   very   useful   in   the  equipment   of   Sunday- 


The  Sunday  School  Equipped  35 

schools,  and  which  will  suggest  themselves  we  are  sure 
to  all  who  will  give  the  matter  any  thought ;  leaf  clus- 
ters for  the  smaller  children ;  the  proper  lesson  helps  and 
graded  papers;  building  blocks;  glass  birthday  bank; 
kindergarten  material;  banners  and  stars ;  proper  record 
books ;  necessary  blanks  and  class  cards ;  rubber  type ; 
pictures  and  certificates ;  various  devices  for  securing 
attendance,  attention,  regularity,  liberality  in  giving,  Bible- 
study,  etc.,  etc.  The  shelves  of  the  Sunday-school  sup- 
ply houses  are  full  of  them.  We  desire,  however,  before 
closing  this  chapter,  to  raise  again  the  red  flag  and  warn 
our  readers  not  to  depend  upon  equipment.  Equipment 
is  the  track  and  rolling  stock  ;  organization  is  the  busi- 
ness policy;  the  officers  and  teachers  ai-e  the  directors 
of  the  road. 


Ill 

THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  ORGANIZED 

Organization  is  system,  the  lack  of  it  is  confusion. 
The  difference  between  a  mob  and  a  trained  army  is 
simply  organization.  Organization  secures  results  in  the 
best  and  quickest  way,  with  the  least  expenditure  of  time 
and  effort.  The  organization  of  a  Sunday-school  should 
be  like  the  works  of  a  watch  ;  ever  going,  but  out  of 
sight;  ever  running,  yet  seldom  seen.  No  machinery 
should  be  introduced  into  a  Sunday-school,  or  anywhere 
else,  simply  for  the  purpose  of  "  seeing  the  wheels  go 
round."  When  wheels  are  visible  or  machinery  rattles 
there  is  something  wrong.  A  superintendent  of  our  city 
came  to  visit  our  school  recently.  He  said  to  the  super- 
intendent :  — "  I  always  had  an  idea  that  you  had  so  much 
red  tape  and  organization  here  that  you  got  your  feet 
tangled  up  in  it;  and  I  have  come  to  visit  your  school  to- 
day just  to  see  how  it  works."  During  the  session  this 
visitor  was  shown  through  the  various  departments  of 
the  school.  When  the  session  was  over  the  member  of 
the  courtesy  committee  who  had  been  his  guide  said, 
"  Have  you  seen  the  machinery  ?  "  The  visitor  replied, 
"  No,  I  have  not,  but  the  results  of  it  are  very  evident." 

The  value  of  machinery  in  the  school  is  in  inverse 
ratio  to  its  visibility.  By  fruits,  and  not  by  fuss  and 
feathers  you  may  measure  any  school,  as  to  its  organiza- 
tion. 

In  organizing  a  Sunday-school  for  work,  the  first 
essential  is  : 

36 


The  Sunday  School  Organized  37 

Complete  Enrollment.  Here  is  a  weak  point  in  many 
Sunday-schools.  In  my  official  capacity  in  State  and 
International  work,  I  have  been  obliged  to  gather 
statistics.  That  experience  has  shown  me  that  there 
are  thousands  of  superintendents  who  do  not  know 
even  the  number  of  members  they  have.  This  is  un- 
pardonable. The  effort  necessary  to  secure  this  informa- 
tion will  put  the  superintendent  or  other  officer  in  pos- 
session of  facts  about  his  school  which  will  greatly  help 
him  in  carrying  forward  his  work.  Complete  enrollment 
will  include  the  name  of  every  individual  in  the  school 
or  in  any  way  connected  with  it ;  but  it  involves  much 
more  than  a  list  of  names.  There  are  other  things  we 
ought  to  know.  Among  these  certainly  are  the  address, 
date  of  entry,  location  in  the  school,  date  of  joining  the 
church,  also  the  date  and  cause  of  leaving.  The  card  on 
the  following  page  is  reproduced  for  the  purpose  of 
showing  what  is  considered  as  complete  enrollment  in  the 
school  where  it  is  used. 

There  are  now  many  kinds  of  enrollment  books  pre- 
pared, as  well  as  cards  suitable  for  keeping  this  record. 
There  are  advantages  in  using  a  book,  in  that  the  pages 
are  never  lost ;  there  is  an  advantage  in  the  card  system, 
in  that  if  a  card  is  soiled  or  mutilated  a  new  one  can  be 
put  in  its  place.  Another  advantage  in  the  cards  is  that 
the  records  of  scholars  who  leave,  or  have  died  may  be 
filed  away  separately ;  and  then  the  system  admits  of  in- 
definite expansion.  All  things  considered  we  prefer  the 
card  system  for  keeping  the  enrollment.  The  desired 
information  is  secured,  of  course,  from  new  scholars 
when  they  enter  the  school.  If  a  system  of  records  is 
introduced  into  a  school  for  the  first  time,  slips  asking 


38         How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 


O 

o 
u 

CO 

I 

nd 

G 

P 

CO 

o 


bJDi 

;-i    o 
bJDg 

O    g 


U 


CO 

G 

o 

■i-J 

d 


o 


6 


f^S 


Sf5       "S 


fiq 


cq   cq 


t 


'^ 


a 


pi; 


<t,       jj 


2Q 


ft^ 


O 

11 


■to     ^      «     -S 


I     o 

•s  1 

fi;    ftn    *? 


I 


5S 
!S 

fci       «55      ^         ^ 

H     h     ^     J^ 


I 


The  Sunday  School  Organized  39 

for  the  desired  inioniiation  sliould  be  distributed  to  all 
the  members,  and  the  results  tabulated  by  the  proper 
officer.  It  will  be  seen  from  the  card  reproduced  above 
that  if  all  this  information  is  gathered  and  properly  tabu- 
lated in  a  large  school  it  means  that  some  person  must  be 
selected  for.  the  special  purpose  of  taking  charge  of  this 
department,  for  it  requires  a  great  deal  of  time  and  labour. 
This  officer  is  properly  called  the  biographer,  or  the  his- 
torian. 

The  Records.  A  variety  of  records  is  needed.  First 
those  pertaining  to  the  school  as  a  whole,  such  as  at- 
tendance, etc.,  then  those  relating  to  the  classes  and  to 
individual  scholars.  The  weekly,  monthly  and  annual 
records  of  the  school  itself  should  be  kept  in  a  book 
made  for  the  purpose.  They  should  be  kept  in  ink  and 
the  work  neatly  done.  They  should  be  comprehensive, 
in  that  they  take  in  all  of  the  features  which  it  is  de- 
sirable to  record.  They  should  be  comparative,  showing 
the  gain  or  loss  as  compared  with  the  foregoing  Sundays, 
months,  or  years. 

The  Secretary's  Weekly  Record.  The  secretary's 
record  for  each  session  of  the  school  should  show  the 
number  present  and  number  absent  in  each  depart- 
ment for  that  day.  The  total  of  these  two  columns  of 
figures  should  give  the  exact  enrollment  of  the  school. 
The  number  of  visitors  should  also  be  taken.  In  reading 
the  footings  the  attendance  for  the  day  should  be  com- 
pared with  that  of  the  same  day  of  the  previous  year, 
thus  showing  whether  the  school  is  growing  or  not. 
This  report  should  also  include  a  record  of  the  deaths — 
if  any  ;  the  names  of  those  reported  sick  ;  the  number  in 
attendance  at  the  last  teachers'  meeting,  the  number  of 


40  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

Secretary's   Weekly   Report 


Sunday,  January  29,  1905. 

ATTENDANCE 

Present 

Absent 

Officers  (entire  school), 

83 

3 

Teachers  (entire  school), 

72 

11 

Senior  Department, 

31 

21 

Normal  Department, 

13 

Young  Melius  Department, 

62 

38 

Young  Women^s  Department, 

135 

68 

Intermediate  Department, 

108 

U 

Junior  Department, 

135 

53 

Primary  DepaHment, 

126 

30 

Beginner's  Department, 

29 

35 

Visitors, 

76 

Total  to-day, 

870 

Attendance  one  year  ago  to-day 

818 

Deaths  reported, 

None 

Names  of  members  reported  sicJc, 

(Six  reported) 

Number  at  last  Teachers'  meeting. 

80 

Number  of  Star  Classes  to-day  (all  members  present  with 

their  Bibles), 

1 

Weather, 

Very  cold 

REMARKS: 

Several  decided  for  Christ  to-day. 

IC^"  Please  hand  duplicate  to  Superintendent  each  Sunday. 


The  Sunday  School  Organized  41 

star  classes  for  the  day  (that  is,  classes  having  all  mem- 
bers present  with  their  Bibles).  This  report  by  the  sec- 
retary should  first  be  made  on  a  pad  with  a  pencil,  and 
after  it  has  been  verified,  entered  in  ink  in  the  book  re- 
ferred to  above.  At  the  end  of  each  month,  quarter,  and 
year  the  secretary  should  enter  in  his  book  the  average 
attendance,  showing  how  it  compares  with  the  same 
month  or  quarter  of  the  year  before. 

The  Treasurer's  Report.  This  report  should  show 
the  number  of  givers  and  the  number  of  emitters,  the 
amount  contributed  in  each  department  and  the  total  for 
the  whole  school.  It  should  also  set  forth  clearly  the  ex- 
penditures for  the  week  and  the  balance  on  hand.  If  the 
number  of  omitters  is  read  off  for  each  department  it  will 
stimulate  all  to  give.  The  treasurer  should  also  report 
the  monthly  and  quarterly  totals  and  averages,  and  the  an- 
nual averages  at  the  close  of  the  year.  For  a  copy  of  the 
treasurer's  weekly  report  see  the  chapter  on  "  Giving." 

The  Teachers'  Records.  The  records  of  the  individual 
scholar  are  usually  kept  by  the  teacher  on  a  class  card. 
The  marking  with  us  is  done  on  a  percentage  basis,  as  fol- 
lows : — (These  are  the  percentages  of  credits  given  to  all 
officers  and  teachers  of  all  departments  and  to  the  scholars 
of  all  departments  above  thirteen  years  of  age). 

Attendance  at  Sunday-school, 
Bible  brought  from  home, 
Offering  made, 
Home  study  of  the  lesson, 
Presence  at  church  service  since 
the  last  session  of  the  school,         10 

Perfect  marking,  100 


60 

per  cent. 

10 

« 

10 

« 

10 

u 

42  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

The  above  system  of  marking  is  not  so  intricate  as  it 
appears.  The  scholar  seated  before  the  teacher,  with 
Bible  in  hand,  with  his  home  study  slip  and  with  his  of- 
fering, leaves  but  one  question  for  the  teacher  to  ask, 
viz.:  "  Have  you  attended  a  church  service  since  the  last 
session  of  our  school  ?  "  By  "  church  service  "  is  meant 
the  Sunday  morning  or  evening  church  service,  or  mid- 
week prayer-meeting  at  our  own  church. 

For  scholars  between  ten  and  thirteen  years  of  age 
church  attendance  is  not  required,  and  the  attendance  at 
Sunday-school  is  marked  seventy  per  cent,  instead  of  sixty 
per  cent.,  the  other  features  remaining  the  same. 

For  members  of  the  primary  and  beginners'  depart- 
ments, that  is,  those  under  nine  years  of  age,  attendance 
at  Sunday-school  is  marked  eighty,  committing  of  Golden 
Text  ten,  the  bringing  of  an  offering  ten. 

For  the  home  department,  the  keeping  of  the  weekly 
pledge,  to  study  the  lesson  one-half  hour,  is  marked  lOO. 

Absence  from  sickness,  marked,  S. 

Absence  out  of  town,  marked,  O.  T. 

Absence  other  causes,  left  blank. 

For  tardiness  or  misconduct  on  the  part  of  a  scholar 
the  teacher  is  at  liberty  to  deduct  five,  ten  or  more  from 
the  marking  at  his  discretion. 

A  record  of  ninety-five  per  cent,  for  each  quarter  of 
the  year  is  required  in  order  to  earn  the  honours  of  the 
school.  The  diploma  is  given  to  those  who  reach  the 
ninety-five  per  cent,  for  each  quarter  of  the  year.  It  is 
described  elsewhere. 

The  Departments.  No  school  is  organized  for  work 
that  is  not  divided  into  suitable  departments.  The  num- 
ber   of     departments    will   depend    upon    the    size    of 


The  Sunday  School  Organized 


43 


the  school,  the  convenience  of  the  building,  and 
the  ideas  of  the  superintendent  upon  the  subject.  The 
more  highly  organized  a  school  is,  the  more  departments 
it  will  have  as  a  rule,  yet  many  good  schools  have  few 
departments. 

The  development  of  the  departmental  idea  in  the  Sun- 
day-school is  shown  in  the  following  diagram — which 
certainly  covers  a  period  of  fifty  years. 


I. 

Primary, 

I. 

Primary, 

li: 

Cradle  Roll, 

Beginners, 

Primary. 

2. 

Intermediate, 

I3: 

Junior, 
Intermediate. 

4- 
5- 

Junior, 
Intermediate. 

3- 

Senior, 

f4. 
15- 

Young  People, 
Senior. 

8. 

Young  Men, 
Young  Women, 
Senior. 

6. 

Home. 

9- 
10. 

Teacher  Training, 
Home. 

Not  all  schools,  even  among  the  large  ones,  use  all  ten 
of  the  departments  named  above.  They  are  used  by  the 
school  with  which  the  writer  is  connected. 

The  Officers.  An  essential  feature  of  organization  in 
any  Sunday-school  is  that  it  be  well  officered.  All  offi- 
cers should  know  all  their  specific  duties  and  perform 
them.  It  is  impossible  to  exercise  too  much  care  at  this 
point.  As  another  chapter,  however,  is  devoted  to 
"  Officers  and  their  Duties,"  we  will  not  go  further  into 
the  subject  here. 


IV 

THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  GRADED 

Introductory.  The  grading  of  the  pubhc  school  is 
acknowledged  by  all  to  be  essential  to  the  best  results. 
The  same  is  equally  true  of  the  Sunday-school.  But,  it 
is  also  true  that  there  are  difficulties  attending  the  grading 
of  the  Sunday-school  which  are  not  encountered  in  tlie 
public  school,  as,  for  instance,  the  lack  of  authorit}', 
transient  membership,  poorly  adapted  buildings,  ungraded 
teachers  and  inadequate  facilities.  In  spite  of  all  this 
however,  every  Sunday-school  may  be  graded  with  more 
or  less  completeness. 

Much  that  has  been  written  or  spoken  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  grading  in  the  Sunday-school  has  been  impracti- 
cable in  the  large  majority  of  schools  because  the  writer 
or  speaker  had  in  mind  a  first-class,  up-to-date  Sunday- 
school  with  all  modern  conveniences  as  to  building  and 
equipment.  A  modern  Sunday-school  building  and  an 
adequate  equipment  are  both  very  desirable,  but  they  are 
not  absolutely  necessary  in  order  to  carry  out  a  proper 
system  of  grading.  The  average  Sunday-school  in  this 
country  numbers  less  than  one  hundred  people  all  told, 
and  it  must  meet  in  one  room.  While  we  should  aim  at 
the  best,  and  hold  up  high  ideals,  we  must  not  forget  this 
Sunday-school.  Yet  it  is  evident  that  those  principles 
of  grading  which  are  applicable  to  these  schools  must  be 
valuable  to  the  larger  and  more  fortunately  situated 
ones. 

44 


The  Sunday  School  Graded       45 

What  is  Grading?  Grading  is  the  arranging  of  the 
members  of  the  school  into  departments  and  classes  in 
such  a  manner  that  the  scholars,  especially  the  children 
and  youth,  shall  be  classified  together  with  those  of  about 
their  own  age  and  advancement,  and  shall  be  in  charge 
of  officers  and  teachers  especially  qualified  to  meet  their 
needs. 

It  will  be  observed  that  if  each  officer  and  teacher  is 
to  be  especially  adapted  to  the  needs  of  some  one  de- 
partment that  officer  or  teacher  will  remain  with  that  de- 
partment, while  the  scholars  must  be  advanced  from  one 
department  to  another,  since  their  needs  are  changing 
continually  with  advancing  years. 

There  are  five  essential  conditions  of  grading : 

First  Essential — Division  Into  Departments  and 
Classes.  Every  school  naturally  falls  first  into  three  de- 
partments ;  (a)  the  children  who  cannot  read,  or  who  can 
read  but  little,  (c)  those  who  are  fully  grown,  and  (d)  the 
middle  class,  or  those  who  come  between  these  two  ex- 
tremes, usually  known  as  the  intermediate  department. 
Effective  grading  has  to  do  especially  with  the  first  and 
middle  classes,  and  includes  scholars  from  the  time  they 
enter  the  school  until  they  are  about  sixteen  years  of  age. 
Just  how  many  and  what  departments  are  needed  will  be 
determined  to  some  extent  by  local  conditions  and  by 
the  size  of  the  school.  The  following  basis  of  grading  is 
in  successful  operation  in  many  schools,  both  large  and 
small,  and  may  be  given  as  a  general  plan. 

I.  Primary  Department,  including  all  under  nine 
years  of  age.  This  department  may  be  subdivided,  es- 
pecially if  it  is  large  and  has  suitable  conveniences,  as 
follows : 


46  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

A.  Cradle  Roll,  for  babies  who  cannot  attend  the 
school.  They  should  be  enrolled,  however,  and  recorded 
as  members,  though  not  counted  in  statistics  given  to  the 
public  as  to  membership. 

B.  Beginners,  for  the  youngest  children  who  can  at- 
tend, usually  those  three,  four  and  five  years  of  age. 

C.  Primary,  for  scholars  from  six  to  nine  years  of 
age. 

II.  Junior  Department,  including  the  scholars  of  ten, 
eleven  and  twelve  years  of  age. 

III.  Intermediate  Department,  including  scholars 
thirteen,  fourteen  and  fifteen  years  of  age. 

IV.  Young  People's  Department,  nicluding  scholars 
sixteen,  seventeen  and  eighteen  years  of  age. 

V.  Adult  Department,  for  all  over  eighteen  years  of 
age.  This  should  include,  if  possible,  at  least  one  class 
for  men  and  another  for  women,  in  addition  to  the  mixed 
classes.  The  very  old  members  should  have  a  convenient 
corner  or  room  in  the  building,  and  should  be  provided 
with  comfortable  chairs  and  with  large  print  Bibles.  In 
large  schools  the  adult  department  is  one  of  the  most 
promising  features  of  the  work ;  it  is  boundless  in  its 
possibilities. 

VI.  A  Home  Department,  for  those  who  cannot  at- 
tend the  sessions  of  the  school,  but  who  will  agree  to 
study  the  Sunday-school  lessons,  keeping  a  record  of 
their  work. 

VII.  The  Teacher  Training  Department  (which 
should  find  a  place  in  every  Sunday-school,  if  possible), 
should  include  those  who  will  take  a  special  course  of 
training  preparatory  to  becoming  teachers  in  the  school. 
No  age  limit  is  given    for  this  department,  though   it 


The  Sunday  School  Graded       47 

should  be  largely  composed  of  young  people  especially 
selected  because  of  their  interest  in  the  work,  and  their 
fitness  for  the  teacher's  office.  They  should  give  a  defi- 
nite pledge  that  they  will  become  teachers,  when  their 
services  are  needed,  upon  the  completion  of  their  course. 

With  the  cradle  roll  for  the  children  who  are  too  small 
to  come  to  the  Sunday-school,  and  the  home  department 
for  the  shut-ins  and  the  shut-outs,  there  is  no  reason  why 
the  Sunday-school  should  not  include  in  its  membership 
and  its  warm  heart  life  every  member  of  every  family  of 
the  church  and  congregation.  We  frequently  hear  of 
churches  in  which  this  is  true.  Included  in  the  number 
we  are  told  is  the  Second  United  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Chicago. 

Basis  of  Classification.  While  the  basis  of  depart- 
mental division  as  given  above  is  largely  that  of  age,  it  is 
not  wholly  so.  A  scholar  is  usually  classified  with  those 
of  about  his  own  age,  not  because  he  is  just  so  old,  but 
chiefly  because  scholars  of  a  given  age  are  commonly 
found  studying  the  same  lessons  in  the  day-school.  Ex- 
ceptions can  be  made  and  should  be  made  in  the  case  of 
those  who  are  advanced  beyond  their  years,  and  vice 
versa. 

In  some  schools  the  passing  of  an  examination  in  elab- 
orate supplemental  and  normal  work  is  required  as  a  con- 
dition to  promotion.  It  is  very  difficult  to  accomplish 
uniform  results  by  the  exclusive  use  of  the  educational  or 
mental  standard  in  grading,  and  it  also  works  an  injustice 
when  attempting  to  classify  new  scholars  who  are  just 
entering  the  school,  and  who  have  not  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  taking  the  supplemental  work  given  to  those 
who  have  been  regular  members.     Supplemental  work 


48  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

should  be  carried  on  as  a  feature  of  the  grading  of  the 
school,  but  should  not  be  made  a  rigid  and  absolute  con- 
dition of  promotion.  Those  who  satisfactorily  complete 
the  supplemental  work  may  be  promoted  ^vith  Jioiioiir, 
receiving  certificates  or  some  other  recognition  ;  but  those 
who  do  not  master  the  supplemental  work  should  not  be 
held  back  on  that  account.  In  other  words,  supplemental 
work  sJioiild  be  made  a  condition  of  earning  the  honours 
of  the  school  rather  than  a  condition  of  promotion. 

Second  Essential  —  Departmental  Organization. 
Each  department  of  the  school  should  have  its  own 
superintendent,  with  as  many  assistants  as  are  necessary. 
Their  duties  should  be  to  maintain  the  grading  of  the  de- 
partment, create  interest  and  enthusiasm,  see  that  the 
teachers  are  especially  adapted  to  and  qualified  for  work 
in  that  department,  and  do  all  in  their  power  to  add 
to  its  efficiency.  In  small  schools  this  superintendent  of 
the  department  may  also  be  a  teacher,  and  an  extra  officer 
may  not  be  needed ;  nevertheless  there  should  be  some 
one  person  in  each  department,  whether  teacher  or  oth- 
erwise, who  is  perfectly  familiar  with  the  grading,  and 
with  the  needs  of  that  department  in  every  particular,  and 
whose  special  business  it  should  be  to  determine  what 
class  each  new  applicant  should  enter. 

Third  Essential — A  Superintendent  of  Classification. 
It  is  one  thing  to  grade  a  Sunday-school  and  quite  an- 
other to  keep  it  graded.  It  will  be  readily  observed  that 
if  teachers  enroll  in  their  classes  any  one  who  may  happen 
to  apply  for  membership,  and  if  scholars  are  permitted  to 
bring  their  friends  promiscuously  into  their  own  classes, 
the  system  of  grading  will  soon  be  broken  down.  There 
must  be  a  superintendent  of  classification  for  the  whole 


The  Sunday  School  Graded  49 

school,  who  alone  shall  have  authority  to  classify  the 
scholars.  This  classification,  however,  refers  to  depart- 
ments rather  than  to  classes.  For  instance,  a  new  scholar 
applies  for  membership.  The  superintendent  of  classifi- 
cation will  readily  discover,  by  questioning,  in  which 
department  this  scholar  should  be  enrolled.  The  scholar 
is  then  presented  to  the  superintendent  of  that  depart- 
ment who  will  know  at  once  in  which  class  of  the 
department  that  scholar  should  be  entered. 

There  are  many  schools  which  have  been  well  graded, 
but  have  entirely  lost  their  grading  in  less  than  a  year 
because  of  failure  at  this  point.  In  many  schools  all  new 
scholars  are  enrolled  in  a  reception  class  in  which  they 
remain  until  it  is  definitely  known  where  they  should  be 
properly  classified,  and  whether  or  not  they  will  become 
permanent  members.     Grading  is  a  continuous  process. 

Fourth  Essential — Adaptation  of  Teachers.  This 
is  the  pivotal  point  in  grading.  The  teachers  in  any 
department  must  be  especially  quaUfied  for  work  in  that 
department.  This  is  the  principle  to  which  strict  ad- 
herence is  given  in  the  public  schools.  Successful 
teachers  of  the  primary  grades  are  not  transferred  to  the 
high  school.  In  most  cases  they  would  prove  complete 
failures.  For  the  same  reason  high  school  teachers  are 
not  put  into  the  primary  grades.  Having  found  a  teacher 
who  is  especially  adapted  to  a  given  department,  that 
teacher  must  remain  in  that  department,  and  not  pass 
from  one  department  to  the  next  with  the  scholars,  no 
matter  what  the  bond  of  affection  between  teacher  and 
scholars  may  be.  In  other  words  graded  schools  must 
have  graded  teachers. 

Fifth  Essential — Regular  Promotions.     Let  there  be 


50  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

a  regular  promotion  day  at  least  once  a  year.  On  this 
day  all  scholars  should  be  promoted,  except  those  in  the 
adult  departments.  It  will  be  observed  that  there  are 
three  years  to  be  spent  in  each  of  the  above  departments, 
beginning  with  the  primary  and  ending  with  the  young 
people's.  Those  in  the  first  year  of  any  department 
should  be  promoted  to  the  second  year;  those  in  the 
second  year  to  the  third  year;  those  in  the  third  }'ear  to 
the  first  year  of  the  next  higher  department.  Teachers 
may  advance  with  their  class  from  one  year  to  another  in 
the  same  department  if  thought  best,  but  not  from  one 
department  to  another. 

The  promotion  should  involve  a  change  of  seats  if 
possible.  A  given  number  of  seats  may  be  known  as  the 
location  of  each  department,  reserved  year  by  year  for 
that  department.  In  this  manner  every  scholar  belong- 
ing to  the  departments  in  which  promotions  are  made 
would  change  his  seat  once  a  year. 

This  plan  can  be  carried  out  in  the  school  that  meets 
in  one  room,  even  though  there  be  but  one  class  in  each 
year  of  each  department.  In  the  absence  of  class  or 
department  rooms,  curtains  can  be  drawn,  or  imaginary 
lines  used  to  separate  one  department  from  another.  The 
primary  department  especially  should  be  separated  by 
some  means  from  the  rest  of  the  school  if  it  is  at  all  pos- 
sible to  do  so. 

We  recommend  that  these  promotions  be  made  one  of 
the  prominent  features  of  the  school,  and  that  special 
services  be  conducted  on  promotion  day  by  the  pastor 
and  superintendent.  Many  schools  have  a  beautiful  cus- 
tom of  presenting  every  child  with  a  Bible  as  he  leaves 
the  primary  department.      Perhaps  some  cannot  afford 


The  Sunday  School  Graded  51 

to  do  this.  Certificates  of  promotion  are  now  made  in  a 
variety  of  forms,  very  beautiful  and  inexpensive;  we 
recommend  their  use,  especially  for  such  scholars  as  have 
completed  the  supplemental  work. 

How  to  Begin  to  Grade  a  School  ?  Let  the  superin- 
tendent call  his  officers  and  helpers  together,  including  the 
pastor,  and  have  a  full,  free  discussion  of  the  whole 
matter,  presenting  all  that  can  be  said  in  favour  of 
grading  and  all  that  may  be  said  against  it.  Do  not 
proceed  further  than  this  until  there  is  practically  una- 
nimity among  the  leaders  upon  the  subject.  When  this 
is  secured,  then  call  the  teachers  together  and  lay  the 
project  before  them.  Some  will  consent  and  possibly 
some  will  object.  The  plan  of  grading  should  be  ex- 
plained in  detail  so  that  all  may  understand  it.  Its 
advantages  should  be  made  clear.  Then  it  would  be  well 
for  the  superintendent  to  present  the  matter  to  the  whole 
school,  explaining  especially  the  advantages  of  grading. 
Then  the  teachers  might  take  it  up  in  their  respective 
classes  and  talk  it  all  over  together,  showing  the  scholars 
the  benefit  of  grading,  but  not  giving  them  a  choice  as  to 
whether  they  will  be  graded  or  not.  In  any  case  the 
work  should  be  done  gradually  rather  than  abruptly. 
When  any  teacher  or  any  class  objects,  let  that  class 
alone  for  the  present,  and  move  only  those  scholars  and 
teachers  who  are  in  sympathy  with  the  plan.  After  the 
plan  has  been  in  operation  for  a  few  months  the  testi- 
mony of  the  teachers  whose  classes  are  graded  will  grad- 
ually cause  those  other  teachers  to  withdraw  their  objec- 
tions and  to  cooperate.  If,  however,  any  class  or  classes 
do  not  consent  to  the  grading,  let  them  alone  for  a  few 
years ;  they  will  be  very  soon  beyond  the  grading  period. 


52  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

It  will  be  observed  that  up  to  this  point  no  authority 
whatever  has  been  exercised  in  securing  the  grading. 
In  the  matter  however  of  receiving  new  scholars  into  the 
school  that  is  in  the  process  of  being  graded,  authority 
must  be  exercised,  or  you  will  lose  all  you  have  gained. 
This  is  where  the  superintendent  of  classification  becomes 
absolutely  necessary.  The  new  scholar  must  either  go 
where  he  is  placed  or  he  cannot  enter  the  school  at  all ; 
there  is  no  alternative,  if  you  would  maintain  your 
grading.  The  grading  having  been  once  secured,  how- 
ever, it  is  quite  easy  to  insist  upon  this  condition.  But 
this  must  first  be  understood  thoroughly  by  all  the 
officers,  teachers  and  scholars.  The  superintendent  of 
classification,  especially  in  a  large  school,  should  have  a 
desk  where  he  may  always  be  found.  When  new  scholars 
appear  in  any  class  or  in  any  part  of  the  building,  they 
are  to  be  introduced  at  once  to  this  officer,  that  he  may 
classify  them.  Eternal  vigilance  is  the  price  of  grading, 
and  no  school  ivill  long  remain  graded  which  does  not 
work  at  the  grading  problem  every  Sunday  in  the  year. 

For  the  encouragement  of  those  who  have  difficulty  in 
securing  the  grading  of  their  schools  the  experience  of 
one  of  the  best  graded  Sunday-schools  in  the  country 
may  be  cited.  It  took  this  school  five  or  six  years  to 
completely  establish  its  system  of  grading ;  and  it  was 
brought  about  in  the  following  manner :  The  superin- 
tendent of  the  school  and  the  superintendent  of  the 
primary  department  were  the  only  officers  who  desired 
to  have  the  school  graded.  They  leagued  themselves  to- 
gether for  this  purpose,  saying  nothing,  however,  about 
it.  It  was  decided  that  every  class  promoted  from  the 
primary  superintendent  should  be  properly  graded  within 


The  Sunday  School  Graded  53 

itself.  The  superintendent  saw  to  it  that  no  new  schol- 
ars were  put  into  those  classes  unless  they  would  be  prop- 
erly classified  there.  As  these  classes  advanced  from 
year  to  year  they  maintained  their  grading.  By  the 
time  these  classes,  moving  forward  step  by  step,  arrived 
at  the  last  year  of  the  intermediate  department,  all 
those  who  had  formerly  been  in  this  and  in  the  junior 
department  had  already  passed  on  beyond  the  grading 
age.  Then  the  superintendent  announced  to  the  teach- 
ers, who  formerly  had  been  unwilling  to  cooperate,  tJiat 
they  now  had  a  graded  school.  To-day  that  school  could 
not  be  induced  to  go  back  to  the  old  way  ;  neither  can 
any  other  school  which  has  once  enjoyed  the  benefits  of 
thorough  grading. 

A  uniform  Sunday-school  nomenclature,  especially  in 
the  matter  of  the  names  of  departments,  is  greatly  to  be 
desired  and  indeed  is  necessary  before  the  largest  bene- 
fits can  be  realized  from  grading.  We  are  glad  to  see  a 
movement  in  this  direction  and  hope  that  the  day  is  not 
far  distant  when,  for  instance,  to  say  that  a  scholar  is  in 
a  given  department  of  any  school  will  convey  the  same 
idea  to  Sunday-school  workers  everywhere. 

The  committee  on  education — a  sub-committee  of  the 
International  Sunday-school  Association  has,  after  much 
deUberation  and  wide  correspondence,  recommended  the 
following  nomenclature  for  the  principal  grades : 


I. 

Primary 

2. 

Junior 

3- 

Intermediate 

4- 

Senior 

5- 

Adult. 

Note  :- 

-For  titles 

of  books  bearing  upon  grading 

and  other 

phases. 

see 

Appendix. 

V 

THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  IN  SESSION 

No  session  of  the  Sunday  school  will  be  a  large  success 
for  which  there  has  been  no  previous  planning.  The 
time  of  the  session  is  so  short,  and  there  are  so  many 
things  to  be  done,  that  unless  a  good  deal  of  thought  has 
been  given  to  the  program  before  the  session  begins, 
there  will  be  much  confusion  and  waste  of  opportunity 
during  its  progress.  A  wise  superintendent  will  readily 
understand  that,  if  any  large  measure  of  profit  is  to  come 
from  the  Sunday-school,  there  is  much  planning  and 
thinking  for  him  to  do. 

Before  the  Session.  Before  going  to  the  building  the 
program  should  be  carefully  planned  in  all  its  details,  and 
written  out.  In  other  words,  get  ready.  Then  go  to  the 
church  early  and  see  that  the  room  is  in  readiness.  It 
may  be  necessary  to  call  the  janitor's  attention  to  some 
things  that  have  been  forgotten,  such  as  proper  ventila- 
tion, temperature,  arrangement  of  chairs.  The  officers 
and  teachers  should  be  so  well  trained,  and  so  thoroughly 
interested  in  this  matter,  that  they  will  all  be  in  their 
places  before  the  time  to  open  the  school.  When  the  set 
time  arrives  for  beginning,  begin.  Have  a  signal  which 
all  will  understand,  indicating  that  you  are  ready.  This 
signal  should  be  given  on  the  very  minute  the  school 
ought  to  begin.  Having  once  given  the  signal  for  order, 
never  repeat  it ;  stand  and  wait  until  quiet  is  secured ; 
then  proceed.     Do  not  scold  if  attention  is  not  secured 

54 


The  Sunday  School  in  Session  55 

immediately ;  you  will  get  it  quicker  by  being  patient, 
and  waiting. 

The  superintendent  ought  to  have  in  mind  every  detail 
of  the  entire  session  before  opening  the  school.  He 
should  know  what  hymns  are  to  be  sung,  who  is  to  read 
the  lesson,  offer  prayer,  or  take  any  other  part  in  the 
service.  The  Sunday-school  session  should  be  provided 
for  as  carefully  as  the  preaching  service  of  the  church. 
A  hymn  board  made  of  cloth  blackboard  material  giving 
the  number  of  the  hymns  is  convenient  and  saves  time. 
It  may  be  hung  in  a  conspicuous  place  before  the  school 
begins.  Let  all  your  plans  for  the  session  of  the  school 
be  born  in  prayer,  and  then  carry  them  out  in  a  prayer- 
ful spirit,  so  that  the  devotional  element  shall  not  be 
lacking  in  any  feature  of  the  service. 

During  the  Session.  Have  very  few  signals.  Let 
everything  be  done  as  promptly  and  as  quietly  as  pos- 
sible. There  should  be  as  much  variety  from  Sunday  to 
Sunday  as  the  nature  of  the  exercises  will  permit.  No 
unnecessary  moving  about  the  room  on  the  part  of 
officers  and  teachers  should  be  allowed,  and  certainly 
no  visiting  back  and  forth  among  the  classes.  The 
school  should  understand  that  it  is  to  attend  strictly  to 
business  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  session. 
If  there  are  visitors,  the  proper  committee  and  officers 
should  look  after  them.  They  should  not  be  shown 
about  the  building  at  a  time  or  in  a  manner  that  would 
disturb  the  work  of  the  school.  Of  course  new  mem- 
bers must  be  entered  and  properly  classified.  Always 
know  what  comes  next,  and  be  on  the  alert  to  discover 
the  first  mdication  of  restlessness  and  disorder.  Make 
few  rules,  if  any. 


c6         How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

"  They  govern  best  zvJio  appear  not  to  govern  at  ally 

The  Session  Program.  We  give  here  a  sample  pro- 
gram from  our  own  school,  making  a  few  words  of  ex- 
planation under  each  item  where  necessary.  It  may  be 
valuable  to  our  readers  by  way  of  suggestion. 

No.  I.  Instrumental  Music.  This  is  played  by  the 
orchestra  and  begins  a  few  minutes  before  ii  :45.  The 
orchestra  times  itself  so  as  to  close  the  number  at  the 
exact  minute  for  beginning.  During  this  instrumental 
music  all  the  members  of  the  school  understand  that  they 
should  go  to  their  places.  They  know  that  the  moment 
the  orchestra  stops,  the  exercises  of  the  school  proper 
will  begin. 

No.  2.  Signal  for  Beginning.  We  use  no  bells 
whatever  for  securing  order.  We  have  a  system  of 
electric  bells  ;  but  they  are  used  entirely  for  signalling  to 
the  door-men  and  department  superintendents.  When 
the  orchestra  ceases,  the  superintendent  quietly  rises  and 
stands  in  his  place  on  the  platform.  Every  officer  in  the 
school  arises  immediately  and  remains  standing  until  the 
exercises  begin.  This  is  the  signal  for  order  and  for  the 
beginning  of  the  school.  These  twenty-five  or  thirty 
officers  standing  in  the  various  parts  of  the  building, 
furnish  an  object  lesson  to  all.  We  have  no  difficulty  in 
begmning  on  time,  or  in  securing  order. 

No.  3.  TJie  Opening  Exercise.  We  have  a  book 
containing  sixteen  opening  exercises,  numbered  con- 
secutively, nearly  all  of  which  have  been  arranged  for 
our  own  use  by  the  writer.  The  hymn  board  indicates 
which  one  is  to  be  used.  Each  opening  exercise  con- 
sists of  responsive  Scripture  reading,  the  singing  of 
several    verses    of   a    hymn,   or    of    several    hymns,   a 


The  Sunday  School  in  Session  57 

short  prayer  by  the  pastor,  and,  sometimes,  additional 
features. 

No.  4.  SJiow  of  Bibles.  In  answer  to  the  call  of  the 
superintendent,  all  who  have  brought  their  own  Bibles 
with  them  stand  and  hold  these  Bibles  above  their  heads. 
This  is  a  very  beautiful  sight  and  encourages  all  to  bring 
their  Bibles.  The  star  classes  remain  standing  a  mo- 
ment after  the  rest  are  seated.  A  star  class  is  one  with 
all  present  and  each  with  his  own  Bible  brought  from 
home.  The  secretary  keeps  a  record  of  the  star  classes 
each  Sunday. 

No.  5.  Our  Aim.  This  is  called  for  by  the  superin- 
tendent and  is  repeated  by  the  school.     It  is  as  follows  : 

"Every  member  present  every  Sunday,  on  time,  with  his 
own  Bible,  a  liberal  offering,  a  studied  lesson,  and  a 
mind  to  learn." 

No.  6.  Our  Motto  and  Watchword.  These  are  like- 
wise called  for  from  the  platform  and  repeated  by  the 
school.  The  motto  is  given  to  the  school  by  the 
pastor,  and  at  present  is  as  follows  : — "  Remember  Jesus 
Christ."  This  is  followed  by  what  is  known  as  the 
"  Motto  Prayer,"  repeated  by  all.  (That  is  not  a  good 
name  for  it  however.)     It  is  as  follows  : 

"  Dear  Lord,  of  Thee  three  things  I  pray, 
To  know  Thee  more  clearly. 
To  love  Thee  more  dearly, 
To  walk  more  nearly,  every  day." 

Our  watchword  is,  "  What  would  Jesus  do  ?  "  It  is 
often  followed  by  the  singing  of  the  following  verse  to 
the  tune  "  Spanish  Hymn  "  : 


^8         How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

"  In  our  Sunday-school  to-day, 
We  have  met  to  sing  and  pray. 
And  to  learn  how  we  may  live 
So  a  good  account  to  give. 
Father  come  and  meet  us  here, 
Fill  our  hearts  with  love  and  cheer ; 
May  we  live  this  whole  week  through 
Asking,  '  What  would  Jesus  do  ?  '  " 

No.  7.  Memory  Verses.  The  members  of  the  school 
have  memorized  a  large  number  of  Scripture  verses,  and 
some  of  these  are  repeated  as  the  superintendent  calls 
for  them  by  location.  From  the  verses  with  which  the 
school  is  familiar  the  superintendent  aims  to  select  ten  to 
more  which  are  appropriate  to  the  thought  of  the  lesson 
for  the  day. 

No.  8.  Hymn.  This  is  generally  a  hymn  of  praise 
chosen,  as  all  the  music  is,  with  a  view  to  its  helpfulness 
and  appropriateness. 

No.  9.  Announcements.  All  the  regular  announce- 
ments and  most  of  the  special  ones  are  found  in  the 
church  calendar,  a  copy  of  which  is  given  to  each  mem- 
ber of  the  school.  As  far  as  possible  the  announcements 
are  printed  in  this  calendar  so  as  to  avoid  taking  the 
time  for  them  in  the  school. 

On  one  page  of  the  calendar  are  ten  questions  bearing 
on  the  lesson  of  the  following  Sunday,  which  all  mem- 
bers of  the  school  over  ten  years  of  age  are  expected  to 
answer,  returning  the  slip  on  the  following  Sunday,  the 
Sunday  on  which  that  lesson  is  taught. 

No.  10.  Excelsior  Classes.  An  excelsior  class  is  one 
with  all  present  and  each  with  his  home  study  slip  prop- 
erly filled  out.  A  record  of  all  excelsior  classes  is  kept, 
and  a  beautiful  silk  banner  with  the  word  "  Excelsior," 


The  Sunday  School  in  Session  59 

upon  it  is  held  a  month,  by  the  class  which  made  the  ex- 
celsior record  the  oftenest  during  the  preceding  month. 

No.  II.  Reading  the  Lesson.  This  is  done  in  a  va- 
riety of  ways,  taking  particular  pains  to  avoid  any 
stereotyped  form.  Sometimes  we  read  alternately  by 
verses ;  but  at  other  times  the  leader  and  school  read  al- 
ternately but  not  by  verses ;  the  leader,  for  instance,  will 
read  what  one  person  says  in  the  text,  and  the  school, 
the  words  of  another,  the  object  being  to  make  it  appear 
as  much  like  a  dialogue  as  possible.  For  instance,  the 
leader  might  read  "And  Jesus  said  unto  him  "; — then 
the  school  would  begin  promptly,  and  read  all  that  Jesus 
said  on  that  occasion.  Sometimes  the  whole  school  reads 
the  entire  lesson.  Sometimes  one  person  reads  it  alone, 
either  from  the  Bible  the  scholars  have,  or  from  another 
version,  while  the  rest  note  the  differences.  I  remember, 
on  the  Sunday  when  we  had  the  Twenty-third  Psalm  for 
our  lesson,  we  had  it  read  in  German,  French  and  Broad 
Scotch  by  three  different  persons ;  then  a  blind  member 
of  our  church  read  it  with  her  fingers  ;  then  all  repeated 
it  in  our  mother  tongue.  It  is  always  possible  to  have 
more  or  less  variety  in  the  reading  of  the  lesson. 

No.  12.  Hymn.  This  hymn  should  bear  as  directly 
as  possible  upon  the  lesson  of  the  day. 

No.  1 3,  Prayer.  A  short,  earnest  prayer  by  one  of 
the  officers  or  by  one  of  the  teachers,  offered  immediately 
preceding  the  lesson  study.  Sometimes  instead  of  having 
one  person  offer  a  prayer  at  this  point,  we  ask  for 
sentence  prayers,  and  often  we  have  ten  or  fifteen  such 
prayers  in  three  or  four  minutes. 

No.  14.  Lesson  Study  Period.  This  is  thirty  minutes 
long.     It  should  be  longer. 


6o         How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

The  first  moment  or  two  of  the  time  is  taken  by  the 
teachers  to  mark  their  class  cards  and  take  their  offering. 
The  class  card  and  the  offering  envelope  are  placed  by 
the  teacher  where  they  can  be  easily  gathered  by  the 
proper  officer  without  interrupting  the  class.  We  permit 
no  interruption  of  the  classes  by  anybody,  except  in 
cases  of  absolute  necessity.  Every  officer  of  the  school 
understands  that  he  is  outranked  by  the  teacher  during 
the  teaching  half-hour,  and  that  the  teachers'  rights  must 
be  respected.  A  signal  is  given  to  the  teachers  three 
minutes  before  time  to  re-assemble  for  the  closing  exer- 
cises. 

No.  15.  I nstrimiental  Music.  This  is  another  num- 
ber by  the  orchestra,  during  which  the  classes  close  their 
work  and  reassemble  for  the  closing  exercises  of  the 
school. 

No.  16.  Hymn.  This  is  generally  a  hymn  of 
praise,  announced,  as  all  the  hymns  are,  upon  the  hymn 
board. 

No.  17.  Reports.  The  school  reports  are  very  brief ; 
indeed  they  are  each  made  in  one  sentence  by  the  treas- 
urer and  secretary,  the  totals  only  being  given,  though 
all  the  details  are  recorded  in  the  proper  books.  These 
totals  cover  the  amount  of  the  offering,  and  the  at- 
tendance for  the  day.  When  it  becomes  necessary,  the 
secretary  reports  also  in  addition  to  this,  the  names  of 
those  who  have  died,  and  of  those  who  are  sick. 

No.  1 8.  Prayer  for  the  sick,  and  for  God's  blessing 
upon  the  offering  made  that  day. 

No.  19.  Review  of  the  Lesson.  This  is  not  a  review 
in  the  strict  sense  of  that  term  as  used  in  the  day-school, 
but  rather  the  calling  out  of  the  main  point  of  the  lesson 


The  Sunday  School  in  Session  6l 

that  the  one  truth  most  forcibly  taught  in  the  lesson,  or 
best  adapted  to  the  school  may  be  firmly  fixed  in  mind. 
This  exercise  is  usually  conducted  by  the  superintendent, 
and  frequently  with  a  blackboard  illustration.  The  dom- 
inant desire  at  this  time  is  that  the  hearts  of  the  scholars 
may  be  impressed,  and,  if  possible,  decisions  secured  for 
Christ.  The  evangelistic  spirit  is  cultivated  throughout 
the  entire  session.  Prayer,  usually  offered  by  the  pastor, 
always  follows  this  feature  of  the  program. 

No.  20,  Closing  Hymn.  This  is  generally  one  of  the 
old  church  hymns,  and  under  any  circumstances  is  always 
a  familiar  one.  It  is  chosen  with  a  view  to  its  appro- 
priateness to  the  truth  enforced  in  the  review  of  the 
lesson. 

No.  21.  Benediction,  by  the  pastor  ;  or  the  repetition 
of  our  motto.  The  school  is  always  dismissed  while  seated. 
Following  the  benediction  there  is  a  moment  of  perfect 
quiet,  during  which  there  is  silent  prayer.  This  is  really 
the  quietest  moment  during  any  part  of  the  school  ses- 
sion. At  a  signal  from  the  superintendent,  seen  only  by 
its  leader,  the  orchestra  very  softly  plays  again  the  music 
of  the  hymn  which  has  just  been  sung,  and  the  school 
quietly  disperses.  This  method  of  dismissal  avoids  the 
boisterous  rush  which  sometimes  follows  when  the  ben- 
ediction is  given  while  the  school  is  standing. 

We  are  aware  there  are  probably  many  features  of  this 
program  which  would  not  be  feasible  in  small  schools, 
nor  desirable  in  many  large  ones.  It  has  been  presented 
merely  for  the  purpose  of  suggestion. 

After  the  Session.  The  superintendent  and  other  of- 
ficers can  improve  the  itioments  following  the  session  and 
before  the  members  of  the  school  have  left  the  room,  in 


62  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

no  better  way  than  by  cordial  hand-shakings  and  greet- 
ings. Sometimes  it  will  be  desirable  to  have  a  short 
meeting  of  all  the  officers  and  teachers,  or  of  a  number  of 
them,  to  talk  over  some  feature  of  the  work  which  has 
developed  that  day  in  the  session.  Officers  and  teachers 
can  also  utilize  these  few  moments  to  speak  to  any 
scholars  who  are  spiritually  interested.  These  are  very 
choice  opportunities  to  the  wise  officer  or  teacher.  The 
superintendent  will  usually  be  the  last  one  to  leave  the 
building,  and  he  should  see  that  everything  is  in  its  right 
place,  put  away  or  properly  arranged. 

The  plans  of  the  school  ought  to  insure  sympathetic 
remembrance  of  those  who  are  absent  because  of  sickness. 
Flowers  which  may  have  been  used  for  decoration  in  the 
room  should  be  sent  to  the  sick. 

In  addition  to  this,  every  officer  and  teacher  has  a  les- 
son to  learn  from  the  session  of  the  school  which  is  not 
a  Bible  lesson.  They  may  with  much  profit  review  the 
work  of  the  day,  endeavouring  to  discover  what  were 
the  weak  points  in  administration  or  teaching,  in  order 
that  they  may  be  avoided  the  following  Sunday  ;  also 
trying  to  discover  where  the  strong  points  were,  so  that 
they  may  profit  thereby  at  future  sessions. 

No  sooner  does  one  Sunday-school  session  close  than 
the  officers  and  teachers  should  begin  to  plan  for  the 
next  session,  for,  if  they  hold  their  place  in  any  worthy 
way,  they  recognize  that  duties  attend  them  during  the 
entire  week.  The  Sunday-school  session  is  not  all  of  the 
Sunday-school,  for  the  same  reason  that  the  preaching 
service  is  not  all  of  the  church.  The  Sunday-school 
lasts  all  the  week,  and  officers  and  teachers  who  recognize 
this  fact  will  do  the  best  work  on  Sunday. 


VI 

THE  PASTOR  AND  THE  SUPERINTENDENT 

It  is  not  our  purpose  to  enter  into  a  lengthy  discussion 
of  the  quaHfications  and  duties  of  either  the  pastor  or  the 
superintendent.  These  two  officers  are  associated  in  this 
chapter  because  their  work  brings  them  close  together. 
Their  cooperation  in  the  work  of  the  church  and  Sunday- 
school  is  absolutely  necessary  if  there  is  to  be  any  large 
degree  of  success. 

The  Pastor.  The  relation  of  the  Sunday-school  to  the 
church  determines  the  relation  of  the  pastor  to  the  Sun- 
day-school. Dr.  H.  Clay  Trumbull  said,  "  The  Sunday- 
school  in  the  pastor's  church  is  his  Sunday-school  in  the 
same  sense  that  the  pulpit  of  his  church  is  his  pulpit. 
This  being  so,  it  follows  that  if  the  pastor  is  what  he 
ought  to  be,  or  what  he  needs  to  be,  in  knowledge,  in 
ability,  in  spirit  and  in  purpose,  his  school  will  be  what  it 
ought  to  be  in  plan,  in  scope,  in  organization  and  in 
methods  of  work.  It  will  be  all  this  before  he  is  through 
with  it  even  if  it  is  not  all  this  when  he  takes  hold  of  it." 

The  pastor  of  the  church  should  be  the  pastor  of  the 
Sunday-school.  His  right  and  position  as  the  educa- 
tional head  and  spiritual  adviser  of  the  Sunday-school 
should  never  be  questioned  by  the  church  or  superin- 
tendent or  the  school  itself.  This  position  however, 
makes  him  responsible  for  the  teaching  that  is  done  in 
the  Sunday-school  as  in  any  other  department  of  the 
church.     If  this  be  true,  he  is  likewise  responsible  in  a 

63 


64  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

large  measure,  for  the  training  of  the  teachers.  He  may 
not  do  the  work  of  training,  but  it  is  his  right,  and  he 
does  well  to  see  that  it  is  properly  attended  to.  The 
members  of  the  teacher-training  class  in  our  own  school 
were,  for  the  most  part,  nominated  by  our  pastor,  and  he 
is  constantly  on  the  lookout  for  others  who  should  join. 
This  is  his  right. 

Dr.  Foster  says  in  his  recent  book,  "  The  pastor  is  the 
chief  officer  of  the  Sunday-school  in  the  same  way  that 
the  President  of  the  United  States  is  commander-in-chief 
of  the  army."  He  is  really  or  ought  to  be  the  power 
behind  the  throne,  and  while  he  should  not  take  upon 
himself  the  duties  of  the  school's  executive  head,  the 
superintendent,  he  nevertheless  holds  the  key  to  the 
situation,  and  in  the  last  analysis,  therefore,  is  largely  re- 
sponsible for  the  success  of  the  school. 

His  relation  to  the  superintendent  should  be  such  that 
he  may  be  free  at  all  times  to  give  helpful  advice  and 
wise  suggestion,  and  accomplish  through  him  the  results 
which  should  be  secured. 

The  wise  pastor  will  recognize  the  place  and  power  of 
the  Sunday-school  in  its  relation  to  the  whole  church. 
He  will  see  his  personal  relation  to  and  opportunity  in 
the  school  and  govern  himself  accordingly.  He  should 
know  how  and  have  the  power  to  unify  all  the  agencies 
of  the  church,  coordinating  them  in  such  a  way  as  to 
give  to  all  their  proper  place  in  order  to  secure  the  largest 
and  best  results.  On  this  account,  he  should  thoroughly 
acquaint  himself  with  modern  up-to-date  Sunday-school 
work  in  all  its  phases,  local,  denominational,  interdenomi- 
national and  world-wide. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  he  should  be  present,  if  pos' 


The  Pastor  and  the  Superintendent         65 

sible,  throughout  the  session  and  every  session  of  the 
school.  He  should  be  a  living  force  in  the  program,  not 
simply  by  the  courtesy  of  the  superintendent  but  by  his  own 
right.  Dr.  MuUins  of  Louisville  in  an  address  delivered 
in  the  Pastors'  Institute  at  Toronto,  November,  I903,said, 

"  A  hostile  pastor  equals  a  dead  Sunday-school. 

"  An  indifferent  pastor  equals  an  inefficient  Sunday- 
school. 

"  An  officious  pastor  equals  a  chaotic  Sunday-school. 

"  A  cooperating,  sympathetic  pastor  equals  an  efficient 
Sunday-school." 

Surely  the  Sunday-school  is  the  firing  line  of  the 
church  and  the  pastor  should  be  there.  The  power  of 
the  Sunday-school  and  the  pastor's  relation  to  it  are  well 
stated  in  the  following  Sunday-school  "  Creed." 

My   Creed  as  to  the  Sunday  School 

E.  Y.  MULLINS, 
President  Southern  Baptist  Theological  Seminary, 

Louisville,  Ky. 

1.  The  supreme  need  in  our  country  to-day  is  that  the 
forces  which  make  for  character  shall  control  the  forces  which 
make  for  intelligence. 

2.  One  of  the  greatest  forces  which  make  for  character  is 
the  Sunday-school. 

3.  The  factor  of  the  Sunday-school  most  potent  in  the  de- 
velopment of  character  is  the  teacher. 

4.  The  supreme  lack  in  the  present-day  Sunday-school  is 
the  lack  of  a  sufficient  number  of  thoroughly  equipped  teachers. 

5.  The  chief  teacher  of  the  teachers  and  trainer  of  the 
trainers  of  the  Sunday-school  is  the  pastor. 

6.  The  chief  trainer  of  the  pastor  is  the  theological  seminary. 

7.  In  view  of  the  absence  in  the  past  of  any  adequate  co- 
ordination and  guidance  of  the  departments  of  the  teacher,  the 
pastor  and  the  seminary,  there  is  an  opportunity  for  the  new 
Educational  Committee  of  the  International  Sunday  School  As- 
sociation to  do  a  great  work  for  the  Kingdom. 


66  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

The  Superintendent.  No  officer  in  the  church  holds 
a  more  responsible  position  than  the  superintendent  of 
the  Sunday-school.  He  is  a  church  officer  and  should  be 
so  regarded.  He  should  hold  his  position  by  the  vote  of 
the  church  and  under  its  authority.  He  should  be  elected 
in  the  same  manner  and  at  the  same  time  as  are  the  other 
church  officers.  Having  been  elected  to  this  position, 
the  superintendent  should  be  given  large  liberty  in  the 
administration  of  his  office.  He  should  be  heartily  sup- 
ported by  the  pastor  and  church  as  well  as  by  the  work- 
ers in  the  Sunday-school.  His  relation  to  the  pastor 
should  be  one  of  loving  sympathetic  cooperation  and 
harmony.  If  these  two  officers,  pastor  and  superintend- 
ent, can  see  eye  to  eye  and  pull  together,  there  is  no 
measuring  the  possibilities  of  their  united  effort.  If  on 
the  other  hand,  there  is  friction  and  jealousy  or  lack  of 
harmony  in  any  sense,  the  result  will  be  disastrous  to  the 
school,  and  in  the  end  likewise  to  the  church. 

No  wise  man  or  woman  will  thoughtlessly  enter  upon 
the  duties  of  such  an  office  as  this.  It  requires  peculiar 
qualifications  ;  a  recognition  of  the  proper  relation  of  the 
school  to  the  church  ;  and  a  realization  of  the  tremendous 
possibilities  of  the  Sunday-school  work.  The  superin- 
tendent should  recognize  fully  his  relation  to  his  pastor, 
to  the  church,  to  the  homes  represented  in  the  school, 
to  the  officers  and  teachers  and  likewise  to  the  scholars. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  he  should  be  a  man  of 
generalship,  gumption  and  grace ;  a  leader  and  not  a 
driver,  a  counsellor  and  not  a  dictator.  He  should  be 
able  to  inspire  those  associated  with  him  and  to  encour- 
age those  who  are  bearing  the  heavy  loads. 

He  should  be  permitted  to  choose  all  the  other  officers 


The  Pastor  and  the  Superintendent         67 

of  the  school,  for  the  reason  that  unless  these  other  posi- 
tions are  held  by  those  who  are  in  sympathy  with  him, 
he  will  be  unable  to  carry  out  his  most  cherished  plans. 
Many  a  good  superintendent  fails  because  the  church 
insists  upon  electing  the  officers  who  are  to  work  with 
him. 

He  will  have  much  to  do  with  the  selection  of  the 
teachers,  though  the  committee  with  full  authority  in  this 
matter  is  referred  to  in  the  chapter  on  officers  and  their 
duties.  He  should  be  a  student  of  the  Sunday-school; 
read  every  good  book  on  the  subject  he  can  secure  ;  go 
to  the  places  where  Sunday-school  workers  go,  thus  com- 
ing in  contact  with  those  who  are  in  the  midst  of  the 
work.  He  should  visit  other  schools  and  see  how  their 
work  is  done,  that  he  may  learn  thereby. 

He  should  have  a  clear  head  and  use  it  unceasingly 
and  intelligently  for  the  good  of  the  school;  two  good 
eyes  to  discern  the  pressing  needs  and  how  to  meet  them, 
frequently  wearing  the  far-seeing  glasses  that  he  may 
plan  far  into  the  future,  not  forgetting  to  put  on  the 
near-seeing  glasses  when  he  studies  the  school  itself; 
two  good  ears  which  will  readily  detect  the  rumbling  of 
approaching  trouble,  always  ready  to  listen  to  the  tale  of 
discouragement  as  it  comes  from  some  tired  teacher ;  a 
tongue  not  too  ready  for  use,  but  never  withholding  the 
helpful  word,  always  complimenting  when  in  any  sense 
deserved,  and  never  scolding  or  finding  fault ;  two  good 
feet  willing  to  go  where  help  is  needed  even  though  the 
way  be  dark ;  two  strong  hands  ever  ready  to  lift  the 
big  end  of  the  load  ;  knees  that  bend  as  the  face  turns 
up  ;  a  back  that  is  broad  and  used  to  heavy  loads  ;  a  good 
liver  and  a  creat  bisf  heart. 


68  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

His  cabinet,  which  will  always  be  consulted  on  matters 
of  importance,  will  consist  of  all  the  general  officers  of 
the  school  and  the  heads  of  the  departments.  As  an 
officer  he  will  be  just,  impartial  and  wise.  As  a  teacher 
he  will  study  to  be  able  to  lead  even  his  best  teachers, 
to  guide  the  school  in  its  educational  work,  and  to  make 
Bible-students  of  the  scholars.  His  methods  will  be 
broad,  comprehensive  and  straightforward.  He  will 
aim  to  have  a  good  school,  the  best  school  possible 
under  all  the  circumstances,  remembering  that  while  it 
is  more  than  a  school  it  is  nevertheless  a  school.  He 
will  devote  his  every  effort  to  securing  the  early  conver- 
sion of  all  the  scholars  and  their  membership  in  the 
church  to  which  the  school  belongs.  Good  citizenship 
will  ever  be  held  up  as  one  of  the  highest  ideals  of  the 
church  life.  His  school  will  be  a  total-abstinence  band 
pledged  as  far  as  possible  against  the  use  of  liquor, 
tobacco  and  profanity.  It  will  be  a  live  missionary 
society  and  know  what  is  going  on  in  this  and  other 
lands.  The  missionary  activities  of  his  own  church  will 
be  made  familiar  to  his  scholars,  that  they  may  get  the 
world-wide  vision.  His  eyes  will  be  ever  open  looking 
for  those  who  may  become  teachers,  church  workers, 
ministers,  missionaries  and  the  like.  He  will  recognize 
that  the  Sunday-school  is  worthy  of  his  best  endeavour 
and  ever  carry  it  upon  his  heart.  It  will  be  the  burden 
of  his  constant  prayer  and  foremost  in  his  thoughts  both 
day  and  night.  As  a  superintendent  he  will  be  consist- 
ent, active  and  hopeful.  He  should  be  a  lover  of  his 
work,  of  men  and  especially  of  little  children.  As  a  man 
he  should  be,  "  Brave  enough  to  be  gentle  and  pure 
enough  to  be  trusted." 


The  Pastor  and  the  Superintendent         69 

Would  you  like  to  have  a  superintendent  like  that  in 
your  Sunday-school?  Would  you  like  to  <^^  a  superin- 
tendent like  that?  I  would,  but — the  ideal  is  still 
far  off. 


VII 

OFFICERS  AND  THEIR  DUTIES 

The  pastor  and  the  superintendent  would  naturally 
come  first  in  this  chapter  but,  as  reference  is  made  to 
their  work  in  another  chapter,  we  can  pass  on  to 

The  Assistant  Superintendents.  In  many  schools 
these  officers  are  called  "  associate  superintendents." 
By  whatever  name  the  office  may  be  known  it  is  not 
always  dignified  as  it  should  be.  Yet  there  are  no  offi- 
cers of  greater  importance  in  the  Sunday-school  than  the 
assistant  superintendents.  As  to  their  duties,  perhaps 
the  easiest  one  that  falls  to  them  is  to  take  the  place  of 
the  superintendent  in  his  absence.  In  that  case  they 
can  plan  the  entire  session  of  the  school  and  carry  it  out 
according  to  their  own  ideas.  Unless  the  school  is  very 
small  there  is  plenty  of  work  for  one  and  oftentimes  for 
two  or  even  three  assistant  superintendents.  The  work 
of  each  should  be  so  clearly  defined,  however,  that  there 
will  be  no  crossing  of  lines.  They  should  be  continually 
taken  into  the  counsels  of  the  superintendent  so  that 
they  may  be  perfectly  familiar  with  all  of  his  plans  and 
with  the  general  running  of  the  whole  school. 

Perhaps  the  best  service  they  can  render  is  to  be 
generally  useful  in  any  part  of  the  building,  carrying 
out  the  plans  arranged  for  that  session  of  the  school. 
There  are  strangers  to  meet,  special  cases  of  absence  on 
the  part  of  teachers  or  others  to  be  noted  and  provided 
for,  and  sometimes  cases  of  disturbance,  and  emergencies 
of  other  kinds,  which  need  attention.     I  think  it  is  well 

70 


OfRcers  and  Their  Duties  71 

that  each  assistant  superintendent  should  have  some 
important  part  in  every  service  of  the  school,  but  this 
should  not  always  be  the  same  part.  One  may  read  the 
lesson,  or  offer  a  prayer,  make  the  review,  give  the  an- 
nouncements, lead  the  singing  or  do  any  one  of  many 
other  things  none  of  which  are  without  importance.  In 
this  way  they  will  receive  efficient  training  for  the  time 
when  they  will  be  superintendents  somewhere.  It  is  a 
great  mistake  for  the  superintendent  of  a  school  to  con- 
tinue year  after  year  in  the  office  without  a  thought  of 
the  necessity  of  continually  and  systematically  raising  up 
young  men  who  shall  be  equipped  for  his  office. 

If  a  superintendent  should  be  unexpectedly  called  away 
during  the  service,  the  assistants  should  be  able  to  carry 
out  the  program  of  the  session  without  the  slightest  break 
in  its  original  plan. 

The  Secretary.  The  duties  of  this  officer  are  gener- 
ally looked  upon  as  of  a  routine  character.  They  are 
nevertheless  exceedingly  important  and  may  be  made  far 
from  uninteresting.  Our  secretary  has  in  each  depart- 
ment of  the  school  an  assistant  whose  duty  it  is  to  gather 
the  records  desired  from  that  department.  These  records 
the  secretary  then  assembles  in  his  report,  which  is  thus 
easily  made  quite  comprehensive  and  comparative.  He 
has  a  bunch  of  blank  reports  padded  together  upon  which 
he  makes  out  in  pencil  the  report  for  a  given  Sunday. 
This  report  shows  the  number  present  and  number  ab- 
sent in  each  department  of  the  school,  also  the  number 
of  visitors  in  attendance  for  that  day,  together  with  the 
total  attendance.  The  attendance  for  the  same  Sunday 
of  the  preceding  year  is  also  recorded,  thus  showing  any 
gain  or  loss.     There  are  spaces  also  for  recording  the 


72  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

names  of  any  who  have  died,  of  those  who  are  sick,  of 
the  attendance  at  the  last  teachers'  meeting,  the  names 
of  star  classes  and  excelsior  classes,  together  with  a  rec- 
ord of  the  weather.     See  sample  report  on  page  40. 

When  this  report  is  completed  in  pencil  it  is  transferred 
in  ink  to  the  secretary's  record  book.  Each  Sunday's 
record  in  this  book  is  an  exact  copy  of  the  record  on  the 
pad.  When  the  book  is  open  there  are  blanks  for  five 
Sundays  before  you  and  a  sixth  blank  for  the  monthly 
report.  This  book  is  made  of  good  paper  and  in  it  only 
ink  is  used.  At  the  end  of  each  quarter  a  quarterly  re- 
port is  made  showing  the  total  attendance  and  average 
attendance,  at  the  school  and  also  at  the  teachers'  meet- 
ings, with  a  summary  of  the  other  facts  noted  above. 

The  Treasurer.  This  officer  performs  the  usual  duties 
of  that  office,  making  weekly,  quarterly  and  annual  re- 
ports. He  pays  out  money  only  upon  the  order  of  the 
superintendent,  and  only  for  such  bills  as  have  been  or- 
dered by  the  Sunday-school  board.  His  weekly  report 
shows  the  following  items  : 

Amount  contributed  by  each  department.  Number 
of  givers  in  each  department  and  in  the  whole  school. 
Number  of  emitters  in  each  department  and  in  the  whole 
school.  Total  amount  of  offering.  Amount  paid  out 
since  last  report.  The  balance  on  hand.  See  sample  re- 
port in  chapter  on  giving,  page  1 37. 

The  Superintendent  of  Classification.  As  stated  in 
the  chapter  on  grading,  this  officer  is  a  necessity  if  you 
expect  to  maintain  the  grading  of  your  school.  He  re- 
ceives all  new  members,  requires  them  to  fill  out  and  sign 
the  usual  application  card,  a  copy  of  which  is  given  here- 
with. 


Officers  and  Their  Duties  '73 


Application  for  Membership. 

NOTICE  TO  APPLICANT:— Please  fill  all  the  blanks  on  this  slip 
and  hand  it  to  any  officer  of  the  School,  who  will  show  you  to  the 


SUPERINTENDENT  OF  CLASSIFICATION, 

Who  will  be  found  at  his  desk  in  the  rear  of  the  room. 


Name 

Address . 


Birthday (Age  if  under  16) „ 

[Year  not  necessary.] 

Have  you  ever  been  a  member  of  this  School  before? 

No  person  over  ten  years  of  age  is  enrolled  in  our  School  except  on 
this  written  application,  used  as  above  indicated.  The  purpose  is  to  se- 
cure accuracy  in  spelling  and  addresses,  and  to  aid  us  in  properly  classify- 
ing the  applicants. 


When  this  form  is  properly  filled  out  by  the  applicant, 
the  superintendent  of  classification  makes  permanent 
record  of  the  entry  upon  the  following  blank : 


74  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

Application  for  Membership 

IN    THE 

Washington    Street    Congregational 
Sunday  School. 

Name _ 

Address „ „ „ „. 

Birthday 

Age  (if  under  1 6) 

Ever  a  member  of  this  School  before  ?...„ 

Do  you  belong  to  our  Church? 

Do  you  belong  to  another  Church  ?  | 
If  so  what  Church  and  where  ?  j 

This  applicant  is  assigned  to  the 

Department  to-day 190.. 

By. 


Superintendent  of  Classification, 


NOTICE  TO  DEPARTMENT  SUPERINTENDENTS.— New  scholars  are  never 

to  be  enrolled  except  upon  receipt  of  this  form  properly  filled  out,  and 
Signed  by  the  Superintendent  of  Classification.  After  assigning  the  ap 
plicant  to  the  proper  class  (entering  name  on  Class  Card  in  Red  Inic) 
please  sign  the  following  and  return  this  slip  to=day  to  the  Superintendent 
of  Classification. 


I  have  assigned  this  applicant  to  Class 

Superintendent  of  Department. 


biographer's 


Notation. 


The  Superintendent  of  Classifica- 
tion will  keep  these  slips  on  file 
for  reference. 


Officers  and  Their  Duties  75 

This  blank  is  put  up  in  pads  with  alternate  sheets  de- 
tachable. By  the  use  of  carbon  paper  a  permanent  rec- 
ord of  all  applicants  is  kept  on  one  sheet  and  a  copy  is 
made  on  the  detachable  sheet.  This  latter  is  taken  out 
and  handed  to  the  superintendent  of  the  department  in 
which  the  new  scholar  is  to  be  enrolled.  This  depart- 
ment superintendent  will  assign  the  scholar  to  the  proper 
class ;  and  the  name  is  then  entered  upon  the  class  card 
in  red  ink  by  the  department  secretary.  This  indicates 
at  a  glance  who  the  new  scholars  are  in  any  given  class. 

The  Superintendent  of  Enrollment.  The  work  of  this 
officer  might  be  done  by  the  last  officer  named ;  but  we 
find  it  a  most  important  position  in  our  school.  He  has 
general  oversight  and  care  of  the  rolls  and  class  cards. 
He  reviews  the  class  cards  frequently  to  notice  and  cor- 
rect the  irregularities  in  marking,  etc.,  and  to  discover 
whether  absentees  are  being  properly  looked  after.  He 
also  keeps  a  record  of  the  officers  of  the  school  and,  at 
the  end  of  the  year,  makes  out  the  honour  rolls  from  the 
class  cards,  thus  selecting  the  names  of  those  who  are  to 
be  recognized  at  the  anniversary.  At  stated  times  he 
turns  over  to  the  biographer  the  names  which  are  to  be 
dropped  from  the  rolls,  with  the  date  and  cause  of  leav- 
ing, so  far  as  these  are  known.  He  makes  out  the 
diplomas  and  prepares  the  list  of  the  names  of  the  honour 
scholars  for  publication. 

The  Biographer.  This  officer  keeps  by  the  card  sys- 
tem permanent  records  of  all  members  with  the  dates  of 
their  entering  and  leaving  the  school,  and  all  items  of  in- 
terest that  can  be  gathered,  such  as  date  of  promotion 
from  one  department  to  another,  date  of  joining  the 
church,  date  of  becoming  a  teacher  or  an  officer,  remov- 


76  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

als,  deaths  and  so  on.  For  reproduction  of  the  card  used, 
see  chapter  on  "  The  Sunday  School  Organized." 

The  Librarian.  We  have  no  school  library  but  we 
have  a  librarian.  He  has  charge  of  the  supplies  lor  all 
the  departments  of  the  school  and  furnishes  them  as  de- 
sired. He  makes  the  orders  for  the  supply  houses,  de- 
termining the  quantities  needed.  All  applications  for 
any  kind  of  supplies  are  made  to  him.  He  keeps  all  sup- 
plies in  a  locked  case,  so  that  they  will  not  be  scattered 
or  wasted,  and  gives  them  out  as  they  are  needed.  He 
also  looks  after  the  clubs  for  teachers'  helps  and  distrib- 
utes through  his  assistants  all  special  leaflets  and  music 
which  the  superintendent  desires  to  place  in  the  hands 
of  the  members. 

The  Birthday  Secretary.  All  members  of  the  school 
are  asked  to  contribute  on  the  Sunday  following  their 
birthday  an  offering  equal  to  a  penny  for  each  year  of 
their  age,  though  no  one  is  asked  to  give  more  than 
twenty-five  cents  unless  he  wishes  to  do  so.  The  birth- 
day secretary  has  the  record  of  birthdays  of  the  members 
of  the  school,  and  sends  to  each  a  birthday  letter  by 
mail.  This  is  a  printed  letter  and  is  not  nearly  so  good 
as  a  written  one,  but  a  great  deal  better  than  none. 
Opposite  will  be  found  a  form  of  the  letter  we  are  now 
using. 

The  birthday  secretary  receives  also  a  certain  per- 
centage of  every  regular  offering  taken  in  the  school,  and 
all  tlie  money  coming  to  this  officer  is  used  for  mission- 
ary and  benevolent  purposes,  being  appropriated  by  vote 
of  the  Sunday-school  cabinet.  She  pays  out  money  only 
upon  order  and  makes  quarterly  and  annual  reports. 

The  Supply  Teacher  Secretary.     This  officer  secures 


Officers  and  Their  Duties  77 


"  Twie  never  stops  to  sleep  or  dine. 
But  on  and  on  with  steady  flight 
He  keeps  tmtired  by  day  and  night, 
And  boys  and  girls  ere  yet  aware, 
Find  threads  of  silver  in  their  hair.''* 

Birtbbai?  <3reeting 

Dear  Sunday-school  Friend : 

According  to  the  record  of  our  Sunday-school,  your 
birthday  comes  this  week.  The  purpose  of  this  letter  is  two- 
fold : 

First,  to  extend  to  you  our  hearty  congratulations  upon  the 
coming  again  of  your  birthday,  with  the  hope  that  you  may  be 
spared  to  many  years  of  health  and  prosperity  and  usefulness, 
and  that  your  talents  may  be  devoted  to  the  only  profitable 
business,  that  of  serving  our  blessed  Master. 

Second,  to  request  that  if  you  can,  you  will  give,  in  grateful 
memory  of  God's  preserving  care  a  "  Birthday  Offering,'^  of  at 
least  as  many  pennies  as  you  are  years  old,  to  be  used  exclu- 
sively in  the  extending  of  His  kingdom  on  earth,  through  the 
missionary  agency  of  our  Sunday-school. 

Birthday  money  of  this  sort  is  not  used  for  expenses,  but  is 
wholly  set  apart  for  benevolent  work.  From  this  fund  we  con- 
tribute to  the  various  benevolences  which  our  school  supports, 
and  also  maintain  our  adopted  daughter,  "Ruth,"  in  the 
school  for  girls  at  Ahmednuggar,  India.  You  may  place  your 
offering  in  the  enclosed  envelope  and  drop  it  into  the  regular 
offering  on  next  Sunday,  or  hand,  or  mail  it  to  Miss  Frey. 

With  heartiest  good  wishes,  we  remain. 

Rev.  Ernest  Bourner  Allen,  Minister, 
Marion  Lavvrance,  Superintendent. 

Miss  Ella  J.  Frey,  Birthday  Secretary, 

610  Vance  Street. 


yS  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

pledges  from  members  of  the  church  and  school  who  are 
not  teaching  regularly  but  are  willing  to  teach  occa- 
sionally, to  supply  from  time  to  time  as  they  are  needed. 
We  have  found  the  following  to  be  the  best  plan. 
Secure  pledges  from  those  who  are  capable  and  willing 
to  teach,  with  the  understanding  that  they  are  to  be  called 
upon  to  supply  not  more  than  once  a  month,  and  that  on 
a  given  Sunday.  In  this  way  a  list  of  names  is  secured 
of  those  who  will  act  as  supply-teachers  on  each  Sunday 
of  the  month.  The  first  of  the  week  the  supply-teacher 
secretary  sends  notice  to  all  those  who  are  pledged  for 
the  following  Sunday,  reminding  them  of  the  fact  and 
also  calling  attention  to  the  teachers'  meeting  on  Friday 
night.  There  is  in  most  churches  plenty  of  good  ma- 
terial for  supply-teachers,  people  who  are  unable  because 
of  lack  of  strength,  home  duties  or  other  causes  to  take 
the  permanent  regular  charge  of  a  class,  and  whose 
splendid  ability  may  be  utilized  in  this  way. 

The  Stenographer.  This  is  a  very  valuable  officer  in 
any  Sunday-school.  He  will  take  dictation  of  letters 
from  any  of  the  general  officers  and  departmental  super- 
intendents, to  the  sick  or  absent  officers,  teachers  or 
scholars,  or  on  any  subject  pertaining  to  the  work  of  the 
school ;  will  typewrite  the  letters  on  school  stationery  as 
early  in  the  week  as  possible  and  forward  them.  He 
should  have  the  names  and  addresses  of  all  officers  and 
teachers,  and  could  keep  a  set  of  envelopes  addressed  in 
advance,  so  as  to  save  time  when  they  are  needed  for 
circular  letters  and  leaflets.  The  dictation  can  be  done 
during  the  session  or  at  some  other  time  if  convenient. 

The  Courtesy  Committee.  This  committee,  composed 
with  us  of  six  people,  seeks  to  make  visitors  welcome, 


Officers  and  Their  Duties  79 

showing  them  every  courtesy  in  their  power,  and  en- 
abling them  to  gain  any  special  information  they  may  be 
seeking  concerning  any  feature  of  the  work,  and  to  do 
this  without  disturbance  to  the  school.  Whenever  visit- 
ors appear  in  any  class  or  department  they  are  at  once 
presented  to  some  member  of  this  committee  who  does 
everything  in  his  power  to  make  their  visit  pleasant  and 
profitable.  They  keep  a  •'  Guest  Book,"  in  which  visit- 
ing Sunday-school  workers  from  other  places  are  asked 
to  write  their  names  and  residences.  These  names  are 
printed  occasionally  in  our  church  paper,  The  Helper,  and 
the  paper  is  then  sent  to  the  visitors.  We  have  found 
this  committee  necessary  in  order  to  avoid  the  inter- 
ruption to  our  work  which  would  otherwise  be  caused  by 
visitors  wandering  about  the  room  at  pleasure.  None 
enjoy  the  courtesy  shown  by  the  committee  more  than 
the  visitors  themselves. 

The  Ushers.  No  officers  are  more  important  in  any 
religious  service  than  quiet,  well  trained,  gentlemanly 
ushers.  It  is  their  business  to  look  after  the  seating 
of  the  people,  especially  of  the  strangers,  in  such  a  way  as 
to  take  the  least  time  and  make  the  least  interruption. 
They  should  be  in  their  places  at  least  fifteen  minutes 
before  the  opening  of  the  school,  as  they  are  the  first 
ones  to  greet  those  who  enter.  They  can  introduce  new 
scholars  to  the  superintendent  of  classification,  and  visit- 
ors to  the  courtesy  committee.  This  office  requires 
much  patience  and  tact. 

The  Door  Men.  These  constitute  a  very  important 
committee.  They  have  charge  of  all  the  doors  entering 
the  building  and  the  various  department-rooms — ten  in 
all — and  are  expected  to  be  in  their  places  fifteen  minutes 


8o  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

before  the  opening  of  the  school.  They  see  that  the 
doors  are  opened  and  closed  at  the  proper  time,  allowing 
no  one  to  pass  in  or  out  during  Scripture  reading  or 
prayer,  or  at  any  time  when  it  would  disturb  the  school. 
The  superintendent  can  communicate  with  those  in 
charge  of  the  outside  doors  by  means  of  electric  bells. 
As  the  school  passes  out  these  door-men  have  charge  of 
the  distribution  of  such  papers  or  other  material  as  the 
librarian  desires  given  to  the  scholars  at  the  doors. 
They  do  not  permit  any  loitering  or  loud  talking  in  the 
vestibules,  or  disturbance  about  the  doors. 

The  Superintendent's  Aides.  Four  young  men  occupy 
this  position  and  we  could  not  do  without  them.  They 
are  hands  and  feet  to  the  superintendent.  Our  school 
meets  immediately  after  the  morning  service  and  in  the 
same  room.  There  is  much  to  be  done  in  making  the 
transition  from  a  church  service  to  a  Sunday-school 
service.  The  platform  must  be  rearranged,  some  books 
must  be  put  away  and  others  distributed.  The  aides  do 
this  work.  This  leaves  the  superintendent  free  to  utilize 
the  interval  between  the  church  and  Sunday-school  to 
meet  strangers  and  speak  to  the  people.  The  aides 
rearrange  the  platform,  put  the  hymn  numbers  upon  the 
hymn-board  and  hang  it  up  in  its  place ;  bring  out  the 
blackboard  and  place  it  upon  the  platform ;  unfurl  the 
flags  at  the  side  of  the  desk,  arrange  chairs  upon  the  plat- 
form as  they  are  needed  for  the  school  and  place  upon 
them  the  song-books.  The  electric  bells  are  also  ad- 
justed. One  of  the  aides  then  stands  upon  the  platform 
waiting  for  a  signal  from  the  orchestra  which  is  now  play- 
ing. This  signal  is  given  a  moment  before  the  end  of  the 
selection  is  reached.     The  aide  then  rings  the  central 


Officers  and  Their  Duties  8l 

electric  bell,  reminding  the  officers  and  teachers  in  the 
various  parts  of  the  building  that  they  have  just  time  to 
reach  their  places.  When  the  superintendent  steps  upon 
the  platform  everything  is  in  readiness,  and  his  own  books 
are  upon  the  pulpit  in  the  place  of  those  used  at  the 
preaching  service.  It  is  impossible  to  overestimate  the 
value  of  the  superintendent's  aides.  One  or  more  of 
them  could  be  used  profitably  in  any  Sunday-school,  no 
matter  what  its  size. 

The  Messenger  Cadets.    See  chapter  on  that  subject. 

Department  Superintendents.  Each  department  has 
a  superintendent  with  as  many  assistants  and  other 
officers  as  are  necessary.  They  are  expected  to  take  as 
much  interest  in  their  various  departments  as  if  those 
departments  were  separate  schools  and  they  were  in 
charge  of  them.  They  find  it  profitable  to  call  together 
the  officers  and  teachers  of  their  departments  from  time 
to  time  for  consultation.  Whatever  the  general  super- 
intendent desires  to  do  in  any  department  he  accom- 
plishes through  that  department's  superintendent.  It  is 
a  very  important  office. 

The  Teachers.  In  one  sense  the  teachers  are  the 
highest  officers  in  any  Sunday-school.  The  importance 
of  their  work  cannot  be  over-estimated.  The  details 
of  their  work  are  treated  in  another  place  in  this  book. 

All  teachers  of  the  school  are  appointed  by  a  com- 
mittee of  three  composed  of  the  pastor,  the  superintend- 
ent, and  the  superintendent  of  the  department  to  which 
the  teacher  is  to  be  appointed.  We  consider  this  the 
best  arrangement  for  appointing  teachers.  It  gives  the 
pastor  the  right  he  ought  to  exercise  in  directing  the 
teaching    force    of    the    school.     It    also   honours   the 


82  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

judgment  of  the  superintendent  of  the  department 
where  the  teacher  is  to  be  placed.  Usually  the  nomina- 
tions are  made  by  the  superintendent  of  the  department 
and  confirmed  by  this  committee. 

The  Cabinet.  The  superintendent's  cabinet  is  com- 
posed of  all  the  officers  of  the  school  and  the  depart- 
mental superintendents.  In  the  case,  however,  of  the 
committees,  as  the  courtesy  committee,  ushers'  com- 
mittee, door-men's  committee,  the  chairman  only  is  a 
member  of  the  cabinet.  This  makes  a  company  of 
twenty-seven  men  and  women  who  are  the  superintend- 
ent's constant  advisors  and  who  have  two  regular  meet- 
ings every  month  for  the  transaction  of  such  business  as 
may  properly  come  before  them. 

We  are  well  aware  there  are  many  officers  enumerated 
in  this  chapter  whose  services  will  not  be  needed  in  some 
schools.  Indeed  there  may  be  those  who  think  the 
school  is  over-officered.  We  have  never  put  in  an 
officer,  however,  for  the  purpose  of  honouring  anybody 
or  creating  a  new  office.  Every  office  is  the  outgrowth 
of  necessity  and  each  officer  has  a  special  work  to  do. 
The  duties  of  some  of  the  officers  here  named  might  be 
performed  by  the  assistant  superintendents  and  by 
others ;  but  we  have  found  it  desirable  to  work  in  new 
material  in  this  way  as  far  as  possible. 


VIII 

THE  TEACHER  AND  HIS  WORK 

The  teacher  is  the  hinge  upon  which  the  Sunday- 
school  swings.  The  importance  of  the  teacher's  office 
cannot  be  over-estimated.  Indeed  there  is  a  sense  in 
which  the  teacher  is  the  highest  officer  in  the  school. 
Certainly  the  superintendent  outranks  the  teacher,  if  at 
all,  only  in  an  executive  capacity.  I  am  sure  many 
superintendents  would  look  upon  it  as  a  promotion  if 
they  could  become  teachers  of  classes.  Jesus  was  a 
teacher.  He  commands  us  to  teach.  Surely  the  teach- 
ing of  God's  Word  is  a  task  worthy  of  all  the  highest 
aspirations  of  any  man,  and  full  of  promise.  Volumes 
have  been  written  and  others  will  be  written  on  the  work 
of  the  Sunday-school  teacher.  It  is  our  purpose  here 
to  give  a  few  suggestions  only  regarding  the  teacher  and 
his  work. 

The  Teacher  Preparing.  Other  things  being  equal, 
the  difference  between  success  and  failure  in  the  work  of 
a  Sunday-school  teacher  is  usually  a  matter  of  prep- 
aration. Ample,  intelligent  and  painstaking  prepara- 
tion will  often  change  what  would  otherwise  be  drudgery 
into  a  satisfying  pleasure.  The  preparation  of  a  teacher 
for  his  work  should  be  twofold,  first,  general ;  second, 
specific. 

I.  General  Preparation,  i.  The  teacher  sJiould 
have  a  knoivledge  of  the  Bible.    This   does  not  refer 

83 


84  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

to  a  knowledge  of  next  Sunday's  lesson  but  to  a  general 
knowledge  of  the  Book  itself;  the  relation  of  one  part 
to  another,  its  general  scheme  and  scope.  The  teacher 
should  have  at  his  command  such  a  comprehensive 
knowledge  of  the  whole  Book  that  he  may  be  able  at 
once  to  locate  any  leading  event  or  incident,  not  only  by 
finding  it  in  the  Bible  but  in  its  relation  to  the  whole 
Bible  story.  The  teacher  needs  to  know  the  Book  it- 
self; teachers  nowadays  are  too  prone  to  read  what 
others  are  saying  about  the  Bible,  rather  than  to  study 
the  Bible  itself. 

2.  The  teacher  should  have  a  knozvledge  of  pedagogy. 
A  teacher  should  know  what  teaching  is  and  how  to  do 
it.  The  principles  of  the  teaching  process  should  be  as 
familiar  to  him  as  the  faces  of  his  pupils.  There  are, 
however,  very  many  most  excellent  teachers  who  per- 
haps have  never  even  heard  of  "  pedagogy "  by  that 
name,  yet  in  whose  teaching  may  be  found  its  very 
essence.  The  teacher  who  really  teaches,  has  a  practical 
knowledge  of  pedagogy,  even  if  he  never  read  a  book 
on  the  subject.  Nevertheless,  it  will  be  greatly  to  the 
advantage  of  any  teacher  to  study  the  best  books  on  this 
subject. 

3.  TJie  teacher  should  have  a  knozvledge  of  the  viind. 
The  same  may  be  said  of  psychology  as  of  pedagogy. 
Many  of  our  teachers  possess  in  greater  or  less  degree  a 
knowledge  of  the  operations  of  the  mind.  It  is  shown 
in  the  fact  that  even  inexperienced  teachers  will  use  one 
method  of  teaching  with  little  children  and  quite  an- 
other with  adults.  For  the  highest  results,  however, 
it  is  just  as  important  that  a  teacher  should  study  the 
minds  of  his  pupils  as  developed  in  their  class   work, 


The  Teacher  and  His  Work  85 

as  it  is   for  a  farmer  to  study  the  soil  in  the  various 
fields  of  his  farm ;  indeed,  infinitely  more  so. 

4.  A  tcacJicr  should  have  large  faith  in  the  zvork. 
This  is  a  preparation  only  in  the  sense  that  it  may  be 
cultivated.  Perhaps  it  is  rather  a  fitness  than  a  prepara- 
tion. Certainly  no  teacher  will  have  large  success  in 
teaching  who  has  not  large  faith  in  the  work.  He 
should  believe  in  the  power  of  God's  Word  to  do  all 
that  God  has  said  it  would.  He  should  recognize  his 
opportunity  as  God-given  and  the  Sunday-school  as  the 
choicest  field  he  can  work  in.  He  should  beUeve  in  his 
work  with  all  his  heart. 

5.  A  teacher  shotild  have  a  passion  for  souls.  Hora- 
tio L.  Sargeant  was  the  founder  in  i860  of  the  Sunday- 
school  with  which  the  writer  is  connected.  At  the  age 
of  thirty-three,  after  an  unusually  intense  business  life,  he 
died.  The  senior  pastor  of  the  city  paid  his  tribute  in 
these  words :  — "  I  believe  Horatio  L.  Sargeant  was  in- 
strumental in  saving  more  souls  in  the  city  of  Toledo 
than  any  other  man  who  ever  lived  in  it;  and  the  reason 
for  his  wonderful  success  was  because  he  had  a  passion 
for  winning  souls."  Sargeant's  time  was  not  his  own; 
he  was  a  clerk  in  a  railroad  office  and  the  superintendent 
of  a  mission  school.  But  his  heart  was  on  fire  with  a 
consuming  passion  for  souls.  And  for  any  without  this 
passion  there  will  be  little  result. 

Much  of  the  general  preparation,  to  which  reference  is 
made  above,  may  be  acquired  without  special  training. 
Many  successful  teachers  have  had  no  training,  indeed 
they  have  never  read  a  book  which  referred  to  the  sub- 
jects in  a  technical  manner — unless  we  except  the  Bible. 
Nevertheless  it  is  very  desirable  that  all  shall  secure  all 


86  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

the  information  possible  in  the  way  of  general  prepara- 
tion for  the  teacher's  office.  There  are  many  most  ex- 
cellent books  at  command  which  will  be  found  helpful. 
Reference  is  made  to  them  in  the  Appendix. 

As  a  desirable  feature  of  every  teacher's  general  prep- 
aration an  important  place  belongs  to  the  mastery  of 
some  regular  teacher  training  course,  such  as  those  recog- 
nized by  the  International  Sunday-school  Association. 
While  this  study  cannot  give  to  a  teacher  all  the  infor- 
mation necessary  it  is  a  very  great  help,  especially 
along  the  lines  of  Bible-knowledge,  pedagogy,  child 
study,  etc.  All  of  this  general  preparation  is  as  neces- 
sary for  teaching  in  one  department  of  the  school  as 
in  another. 

II.  Specific  Preparation.  This  refers  to  the  prepara- 
tion of  next  Sunday's  lesson  or  of  next  quarter's  lessons. 
Specific  preparation  is  necessary.  A  day-school  teacher, 
if  he  is  wise,  will  always  study  afresh  the  lesson  he  is  to 
teach,  no  matter  if  it  is  in  the  elementary  grades,  so  that 
it  will  be  familiar  to  his  mind.  If  this  is  necessary  with 
the  day-school  teacher  it  is  infinitely  more  so  with  the 
Sunday-school  teacher,  for  the  conditions  are  usually  not 
so  favourable  in  the  Sunday-school  as  in  the  public 
school.  This  will  require  much  diligent  study  and 
preparation  during  the  week.  Indeed  no  teacher  is  a 
teacher  on  Sunday  who  is  not  a  teacher  during  the 
week.  A  soldier  who  is  not  a  soldier  in  camp  will 
not  be  a  soldier  in  battle.  A  thorough,  adequate,  spe- 
cific preparation  of  next  Sunday's  lesson  with  a  grasp 
of  its  relation  to  the  whole  of  Bible  history  will  set  the 
teacher  far  on  his  way  towards  success. 

III.  How  to  Prepare,    i .    Gather  your  material.   This 


The  Teacher  and  His  Work  87 

involves  first  of  all  the  study  of  the  Bible  lesson  from  the 
Bible.  The  greatest  need  among  Sunday-school  teachers 
to-day  is  original  Bible  study.  This  does  not  mean  the 
study  of  the  Bible  in  the  original  languages,  though  that 
is  important ;  it  does  mean  the  study  of  our  English 
Bible  out  of  the  Bible  itself.  First  of  all,  the  lesson 
should  be  read  repeatedly,  using  the  best  revised  version 
you  can  get.  Read  the  text  first  for  the  purpose  of  get- 
ting the  story  in  your  mind.  At  each  successive  read- 
ing look  for  something  specific  in  the  text,  as,  for  in- 
stance, the  places  mentioned,  the  persons  mentioned,  the 
things  that  were  done,  or  said.  Watch  for  the  natural 
divisions,  noting  the  change  in  the  general  thought.  In 
many  cases  a  lesson  thus  read  will  naturally  fall  into 
parts,  each  part  with  a  leading  idea.  The  naming  of 
these  ideas  gives  you  an  analysis  of  the  lesson.  It  may 
not  be  as  choice  an  analysis  as  you  will  find  in  some  of 
the  lesson  helps ;  but  it  may  be  the  best  one  for  you  to 
use  as  it  is  the  product  of  your  own  mind.  Of  course 
you  will  read  all  parallel  passages,  if  there  are  any,  and 
look  up  all  references  which  bear  upon  the  subject.  The 
Bible  is  its  own  best  commentary  when  intelligently  used. 
Gathering  the  material  also  involves  a  study  of  lesson 
helps.  Hundreds  of  the  choicest  minds  in  this  and  other 
countries  are  focussing  the  wealth  of  years  of  study  and 
preparation  upon  our  Sunday-school  lessons.  For  a  few 
[)cnnies  we  can  place  upon  our  library  tables  the  lesson 
helps  of  our  various  denominations,  and  their  quality 
could  not  be  improved  if  they  cost  dollars  instead  of 
pennies.  Of  course  first  of  all  we  will  want  the  lesson 
helps  issued  by  our  own  denomination ;  then  it  is  well 
to  have  some  of  those  also  issued  by  other  denomina- 


88  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

tions,  and  also  as  many  as  we  can  procure  and  have  time 
to  study,  of  those  splendid  helps  published  by  independ- 
ent concerns.  Lesson  helps  should  be  used  with  care 
and  discrimination  ;  don't  try  to  use  too  many.  I  would 
always  use  a  lesson  help  with  a  pencil  in  my  hand  mark- 
ing the  items  which  appear  to  be  most  helpful  to  me. 

At  the  World's  Sunday-school  Convention  in  London 
in  1889,  Rev.  Richard  Glover  of  Bristol  made  an  ad- 
dress which  none  of  the  delegates  present  will  ever  forget. 
In  that  address  were  three  sentences — referring  to  lesson 
helps — which  could  not  be  improved  upon  : 

"  Brethren,  use  lesson  helps ;  but  do  not  depend  on 
lesson  helps." 

"  Use  lesson  helps  with  your  Bible,  and  not  apart 
from  it." 

"  Those  lesson  helps  are  the  best  which  set  you  think- 
ing, not  those  which  save  you  thinking." 

2.  Arrange  the  Material.  Having  gathered  a  great 
deal  more  material  than  you  can  possibly  use,  you  will 
next  arrange  it  in  usable  form.  This  process  requires 
first  of  all  that  you  should  have  the  last  lesson  in  mind 
and  also  the  next  lesson  and  those  which  are  to  follow. 
It  is  a  great  mistake  to  teach  the  lessons  as  if  each  stood 
alone  like  this : 


The  lessons  should  rather  be  taught  in  this  fashion, 

^^*    ^"^^  1^™^    ^•••^    »      »    ^^^.  ^»^    ^^^    ^^^.    m      >    ^~^    ^— =a   <»»«^> 

In  other  words  the  lessons  should  be  like  links  of  a  chain 
rather  than  like  bricks  laid  end  to  end.  The  arranging 
of  your  material  also  will  involve  keeping  your  scholars 
in  mind.     Some  of  the  material  will  not  be  adapted  to 


The  Teacher  and  His  Work  89 

your  class,  though  it  may  be  to  others.  Of  course  you 
will  have  to  eliminate  part  and  arrange  the  rest.  The 
arrangement  of  your  material  involves  a  teaching  plan 
and  this  should  be  clearly  defined  and  decided  upon  be- 
fore the  teaching  process  is  begun.  The  first  few  minutes 
(sometimes  called  the  attack  or  approach)  are  very  impor- 
tant. A  Sunday-school  lesson  should  be  so  arranged  as 
to  have  the  fish  hook  first  and  the  liarpoon  last.  That  is, 
the  first  few  sentences  should  make  your  lesson  stick,  and 
the  last  sentences  should  make  it  hold. 

IV.  Some  Suggestions,  i.  Begin  Early.  This  ap- 
plies especially  to  the  week,  but  also  to  the  quarter. 
It  is  well  at  the  beginning  of  the  quarter  to  have  in 
your  mind  an  intelligent  outline  of  the  whole  twelve 
lessons.  One  cannot  hope  for  much  success  who  puts 
off  his  lesson  preparation  until  late  in  the  week.  A 
little  time  spent  each  day  in  study  of  the  lesson  is  very 
much  better  than  a  greater  amount  of  time  at  one  sitting. 
There  are  very  many  advantages  in  getting  an  early  start. 
Having  your  lesson  in  mind,  you  will  be  thinking  about 
it  upon  the  street  or  when  going  about  your  work. 
Suitable  illustrations  will  also  come  to  your  mind  from 
your  daily  reading  and  from  your  social  and  business  in- 
tercourse with  others.  When  you  begin  early  you  are 
wearing  your  Sunday-school  spectacles  all  the  week,  and 
see  things  from  the  standpoint  of  your  lesson. 

2.  Study  Daily.  When  Paul  was  comparing  one 
church  with  another  (Acts  17:  11),  the  point  of  superi- 
ority of  one  over  the  other  was  their  daily  study  of  the 
Scriptures.  A  daily  study  of  the  lesson  gives  you  a 
better  chance  to  filter  it,  so  to  speak,  and  weigh  it  as 
well.     Then  the  lesson  is  always  fresh  in  your  mind. 


go  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

3.  Prepare  Copiously.  No  one  can  teach  all  he  knows 
and  teach  effectively.  It  is  the  water  in  the  standpipe, 
the  water  that  does  not  come  out,  that  makes  the  water 
which  does  come  out  from  the  faucet  come  with  such 
power.  David  selected  five  stones  from  the  brook  with 
which  to  fight  the  giant ;  according  to  the  record,  how- 
ever, he  only  needed  one ;  had  more  been  needed  he 
would  have  been  ready.  A  teacher  who  is  fully  pre- 
pared in  this  way  with  more  than  he  can  possibly  use, 
even  though  much  of  it  is  not  in  his  teaching  plan,  will 
always  be  resourceful  and  in  command  of  himself.  The 
great  German,  Goethe,  said  it  was  a  pitiable  sight  to  see 
a  teacher  try  to  teach  all  he  knew. 

4.  Rcmcvibcr  the  Time  Limit.  As  a  rule  the  teacher 
has  about  thirty  minutes  in  which  to  teach  the  lesson. 
This  fact  is  vitally  related  to  his  method  of  preparation. 
"  Plan  your  work  and  work  your  plan  "  is  a  good  motto ; 
but  you  cannot  work  a  forty  minute  plan  into  a  thirty 
minute  period.  We  have  often  heard  teachers  say,  "  Our 
lesson  was  so  interesting  to-day  that  we  only  got  to  the 
third  verse."  Sometimes  this  is  all  right ;  but  it  is  usually 
a  confession  of  defective  preparation  on  the  part  of  the 
teacher.  It  is  the  teacher's  business  to  get  through  the 
lesson  in  the  time  allowed,  and  with  a  properly  prepared 
plan  made  with  the  time  limit  in  view  he  will  usually 
succeed.  There  are  exceptions  to  this  rule  we  will  ad- 
mit. It  is  plain  also  that  a  teacher  cannot  teach  all  he 
would  like  to  ;  his  plan  should  embody  only  those  things 
which  are  most  helpful  to  his  class.  A  lesson  thus 
planned  and  taught  will  give  better  satisfaction  to  both 
pupil  and  teacher  than  any  of  the  time-absorbing  side 
issues  which  for  the  moment  appear  so  interesting. 


The  Teacher  and  His  Work  91 

5.  Prepare  Prayerfully.  Let  your  lesson  preparation 
be  filled  with  prayer.  You  will  need  to  prepare  yourself 
and  prayer  will  give  the  best  personal  preparation.  The 
teacher  should  remember  that  he  is  the  lesson  in  most 
cases ;  that  "  the  teacher's  hfe  is  the  life  of  his  teaching." 
All  Bible  study  should  be  accompanied  by  prayer.  The 
Psalmist  says,  "  Open  Thou  mine  eyes  that  I  may  behold 
wondrous  things  out  of  Thy  law."  One  reason  why  we 
see  so  few  of  the  wondrous  things  is  because  we  have 
not  asked  to  have  our  eyes  opened.  Put  yourself  into 
the  lesson.  One  of  the  best  Bible  teachers  in  New  Eng- 
land taught  a  class  for  many  years.  Almost  every 
scholar  who  entered  the  class  became  a  Christian  and 
joined  the  church.  When  asked  the  secret  of  his  success 
he  would  reply,  "  I  just  keep  shelling  my  pod  of  P's, 
"  Pray. 

Plan. 

Prepare. 

Pour  Out 

Pull  In." 
It  was  my  privilege  in  crossing  the  ocean  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1903,  to  become  acquainted  with  Rev.  W.  H. 
Griffith  Thomas,  an  Episcopalian  clergyman  of  London, 
England,  who  is  the  author  of  a  number  of  books  on 
Bible  Study  and  has  spoken  at  Northfield  and  elsewhere 
in  our  country.  Before  separating  from  him  on  landing 
he  gave  me  these  lines,  which  bear  upon  the  subject  of 
this  chapter : — 

"  Think  yourself  empty. 
Read  yourself  full. 
Write  yourself  clear. 
Pray  yourself  hot." 
The  Teacher  Teaching.     Much  of  the  teacher's  sue- 


gi  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

cess  in  the  presence  of  the  class   depends  upon  three 
things : — 

1.  Thorough  Preparation. 

2.  A  Definite  Plan. 

3.  The  Teacher's  Manner. 

Before  reaching  the  teaching  period  of  the  Sunday- 
school  session  there  are  various  features  of  the  opening 
exercises  to  which  attention  must  be  given.  The  teacher 
who  is  able  to  secure  the  heartiest  cooperation  and 
participation  in  these  general  exercises  will  have,  ordi- 
narily, the  least  trouble  in  teaching  the  lesson.  It  is 
quite  important  therefore  that  the  teacher  himself  should 
engage  heartily  in  all  that  the  school  is  doing,  thus  setting 
his  class  a  good  example. 

All  the  class  material  needed  for  the  day,  such  as  song- 
books  in  sufficient  number,  Bibles  in  the  hands  of  all,  a 
pad  or  pads  for  all  the  scholars,  should  be  in  hand  before 
the  teaching  period,  escaping  thus  the  confusion  incident 
to  the  distribution  of  books,  cards,  envelopes,  etc.,  when 
the  teacher  begins  the  work  of  presenting  the  lesson. 
But  he  cannot  present  what  he  does  not  possess  ;  he 
must  have  in  his  mind,  then,  a  very  clear  outline  of  what 
he  intends  to  teach  and  also  a  plan  of  his  method  of  pre- 
senting it.  This  plan  need  not,  and  indeed  should  not 
be  always  the  same.  There  is  opportunity  for  consider- 
able variety  at  this  point.  But  so  much  depends  upon 
the  first  five  minutes  of  the  lesson  period  that  the  teacher 
needs  to  have  some  plan  so  definitely  settled  that  he  is 
master  of  the  situation  from  the  very  first.  Woe  to  the 
teacher  who  comes  to  this  point  without  knowing  before- 
hand what  he  is  going  to  do  or  say. 

The  Teaching  Process.    The  lesson  of  the  day  should 


The  Teacher  and  His  Work  93 

be  made  the  outstanding  theme.  It  should  be  made  as 
real  as  possible.  Put  life  into  it.  Sometimes  the  hold- 
ing up  of  an  object  at  the  very  opening  will  command 
the  attention  ;  sometimes  having  the  scholars  draw  some- 
thing on  their  pads,  something  in  the  lesson  or  associated 
with  it  will  accomplish  the  same  thing.  Most  of  the 
Bible  lessons  can  be  made  so  real  that  the  scholars  can 
fairly  see  the  characters  themselves.  It  is  well  to  use  the 
imagination  and  put  yourself,  as  far  as  possible,  into  the 
conditions  as  they  existed  at  the  time  the  lesson  was 
written.  It  would  be  impossible  to  be  dull  describing  a 
railroad  accident  if  you  had  been  in  it.  Make  the  lesson 
live.  "  Seize  the  moment  of  excited  curiosity  to  fix  the 
truth."  Make  your  teaching  positive  rather  than  nega- 
tive. The  lesson  should  not  be  made  a  whip  to  snap 
over  the  heads  of  the  scholars.  Make  your  applications 
as  you  go  along.  The  time  to  catch  a  fish  is  zvJien  lie 
bites.  The  old-fashioned  fable  with  a  moral  at  the  end 
will  not  do  for  Sunday-school  teaching. 

There  should  be  no  lesson-helps  in  the  hands  either  of 
teacher  or  scholar;  Bibles  only  are  permissible  and, 
indeed,  these  should  be  closed  most  of  the  time.  Pro- 
fessor Hamill  says,  "  The  A  B  C  of  good  teaching  is  All 
Books  Closed ;  "  and  he  is  right.  It  is  impossible  to  over- 
estimate the  power  of  the  "  emancipated  eye  "  during  the 
teaching  process. 

The  Art  of  Questioning.  The  average  teacher  when 
poorly  prepared  will  usually  lecture  to  the  class  ;  if  well 
prepared  he  will  ask  questions  of  the  class  ;  if  thoroughly 
prepared  he  will  endeavour  to  provoke  questions  from  the 
class.  The  art  of  combining  the  last  two  methods  marks 
the  highest  skill  in  tesfcching.     "  Never  tell  a  scholar  what 


94  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

you  can  get  him  to  tell  you ;  and  never  tell  a  scholar 
anything  without  asking  him  to  reproduce  it."  These 
principles  have  been  laid  down  for  many  years  in  the 
best  books  on  this  subject.  The  question  hook  is  the 
sceptre  of  power  in  the  hands  of  a  wise  teacher. 

Do  not  question  individuals ;  question  the  class  and 
individualize  after  the  question  is  asked.  For  example, 
if  you  speak  a  boy's  name  and  then  ask  him  a  question, 
other  boys  will  feel  free  from  responsibility  for  the  time 
and  may  not  give  attention.  If  your  question  is  directed 
to  the  whole  class  so  that  every  boy  is  looking  for  it  to 
come  his  way,  you  will  probably  have  their  attention 
from  the  start ;  then  you  may  select  the  boy  who  shall 
answer  the  question.  Some  teachers  find  it  preferable  to 
ask  questions  repeatedly  of  the  same  scholar,  and  that 
scholar  the  least  attentive  one  in  the  class.  He  soon 
understands  the  penalty  of  inattention. 

Do  not  ask  leading  questions  which  can  be  answered 
by  "  yes,"  or  "  no,"  or  a  nod  of  the  head ;  a  question 
which  requires  no  thought  for  its  answer  does  more  harm 
than  good. 

Do  not  answer  your  own  question  by  embodying  in 
the  question  itself  the  elements  or  suggestion  of  the 
answer.  Give  just  as  little  information  as  possible  in  the 
question,  expecting  the  scholar  to  give  as  much  as  possi- 
ble. 

Do  not  confine  your  questions  to  those  who  can 
answer  them  best ;  you  can  give  the  brighter  scholars  the 
harder  questions  and  the  duller  scholars  the  easier  ones ; 
but  do  not  pass  by  any  one  in  the  asking  of  your  ques- 
tions. 

Do  not  ridicule  or  directly  negative  a  wrong  answer  if 


The  Teacher  and  His  Work  95 

honestly  given.  A  primary  teacher  once  asked  her  class 
where  Jesus  was  born.  A  scholar  answered  very 
promptly,  "  At  Jerusalem."  Many  teachers  would  have 
said  "  no  "  ;  and  tried  for  another  answer.  Not  so,  how- 
ever, with  this  teacher,  who  was  wise.  She  said, "  Thank 
you  ;  very  close  to  Jerusalem,  only  a  few  miles  away  at  a 

little  town  called "  "  Bethlehem,"  said  several  at  once. 

"  Yes — at  Bethlehem  very  close  to  Jerusalem."  She 
gave  this  scholar  to  understand  that  he  had  helped  to 
answer  that  question.     As  a  result  he  will  try  again. 

Concentrate  Upon  the  Central  Truth.  Do  not  try  to 
teach  all  there  is  in  a  lesson.  Select  a  central  truth. 
This  central  truth  may  be  different  in  different  classes 
owing  to  the  varying  needs  of  the  scholars.  Having  de- 
cided upon  the  one  thing  you  most  desire  to  impress, 
teach  that.  It  is  better  to  teach  one  truth  in  twenty  ways 
than  to  teach  twenty  truths  in  one  lesson.  Teach  a  little, 
but  teach  it  well ;  it  is  easy  to  forget.  A  great  teacher 
once  said,  "  Not  what  I  may  remember  constitutes  knowl- 
edge, but  that  which  I  cannot  forget." 

The  lessons  of  life  seem  very  hard  for  us  to  learn.  We 
are  so  dull  that  we  must  be  taught  over  and  over  again. 
The  teacher  cannot  overestimate  the  value  of  repetition 
and  review.  The  Jesuits  have  a  saying  that  "  Repetition 
is  the  mother  of  learning."  Always  review  the  lesson 
after  teaching  it,  at  least  in  some  degree.  Call  up  the 
lesson  that  has  gone  before  and  tie  the  two  together. 
Look  ahead  to  the  next  lesson  and  arrange  a  place  for  it 
to  fit  into  your  plan. 

Keep  the  main  purpose  constantly  in  view.  All  Sun- 
day-school teaching  is  primarily  for  instruction ;  but  ulti- 
mately it  is  for  salvation,  edification  and  training  for 


96  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

Christian  service.  You  should  aim  definitely  in  the  case 
of  each  scholar  in  your  class,  first  of  all  for  his  conver- 
sion, then  to  build  up  in  him  a  strong  Christian  character, 
based  on  the  Word  of  God.  Nor  should  it  be  forgotten 
that  part  of  the  teacher's  work  is  to  train  the  scholar  for 
active  service  in  personal  work  for  Christ  and  humanity. 

The  teacher's  example  is  all  important.  We  teach 
more  by  what  we  are  than  by  what  we  say  or  do.  The 
teacher  must  be  what  he  seeks  to  have  his  scholar  be- 
come. The  teacher  who  is  the  ideal  of  his  scholars  as  a 
Christian  man  or  woman  will  have  tremendous  influence 
with  them.  He  should  have  sympathy  for  them  in  all 
of  their  experiences.  He  should  give  himself  unreserv- 
edly to  his  class.  You  can  give  without  loving ;  but  you 
cannot  love  without  giving. 

Do  not  on  any  account  allow  yourself  to  get  discour- 
aged. Whoever  does  his  best  succeeds.  God's  promise 
is  to  the  faithful.  It  is  impossible  to  tell  just  what  will 
produce  the  best  results.  The  day  you  seemed  to  fail — 
and  went  home  with  heavy  heart  and  tearful  eyes  may 
have  been  the  best  day's  work  you  ever  did.  FideHty 
is  success. 

The  experiences  of  the  day  should  be  reviewed  and,  if 
mistakes  are  discovered,  an  effort  should  be  made  to 
find  a  way  to  remedy  them.  Begin  immediately  to 
plan  for  the  next  Sunday's  work.  The  teacher  who  Avill 
carry  his  scholars  and  his  lesson  in  his  mind  and  upon  his 
heart  all  the  week  will  soon  discover  the  supreme  joy  of 
Sunday-school  teaching.  "  And  they  that  be  teachers 
shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  firmament  and  they 
that  turn  many  to  righteousness  as  the  stars  forever  and 
ever"  (Dan.  12:  3,  Marg.). 


IX 

THE  TEACHERS'  MEETING 

Have  a  Teachers'  Meeting.  It  is  quite  impossible  to 
overestimate  the  value  of  a  properly  conducted  teachers' 
meeting.  This  is  because  of  the  importance  of  the  teacher 
as  a  factor  in  the  work  of  the  kingdom.  Certainly  all 
Christians  are  agreed  that  the  Sunday-school  is  the  most 
fertile  field  the  church  can  possibly  cultivate.  This  is, 
first,  because  it  is  easier  to  win  children  to  the  kingdom 
of  God  than  it  is  to  win  adults.  Not  only  that,  but  they 
are  much  more  valuable  in  Christian  service  when  their 
training  begins  in  youth.  Fully  four-fifths  of  those  who 
unite  with  our  churches  upon  conversion,  both  in  this 
country  and  England,  come  through  the  Sunday-school. 
Some  one  has  said,  that  when  it  comes  to  winning  souls 
for  God  in  the  Sunday-school,  "  The  pastor  is  across  the 
street,  the  superintendent  is  at  arm's  length,  but  the 
teacher  is  face  to  face!'  The  teacher  evidently  has  the 
place  of  greatest  privilege  and  richest  opportunity,  a  place 
and  a  task  the  infinite  possibilities  of  which  demand  the 
noblest  service  that  every  faculty  can  render.  In  view 
of  these  facts,  can  anything  be  more  important  than  train- 
ing and  preparing  the  teachers  in  the  art,  not  only  of 
teaching,  but  of  soul  winning  ?  Nevertheless  only  about 
one  third  of  all  the  churches  in  the  United  States  and 
Canada  have  a  teachers'  meeting. 

It  is  the  coaling  station  of  the  school.  It  will  take  de- 
termination, work,  perseverance,  push  and  prayer  to  have 

97 


98  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

this  meeting  of  your  teachers ;  but  it  is  worth  more  than 
it  costs.     Have  a  teachers'  meetitig  f 

The  Real  Purpose  of  the  Teachers'  Meeting.  Failure 
to  fully  comprehend  its  design  and  importance  is  the 
reason  for  the  common  apathy  to  be  found  in  many 
places  concerning  the  teachers'  meeting.  No  superin- 
tendent who  fully  realizes  its  real  purpose  and  value  will 
willingly  do  without  it.  First,  let  me  say  that  the  name 
is  in  some  respects  a  handicap.  The  true  teachers'  meet- 
ing is  no  more  exclusively  for  the  teachers  than  it  is  for 
the  officers,  nor  is  it  for  either  of  these  to  the  exclusion 
of  several  other  classes  of  people  whom  we  shall  name 
later.  Its  intent  is  to  aid  all  those  who  have  anything  to 
do  with  the  management  of  the  Sunday-school,  whether 
officers,  teachers,  or  assistants  of  any  kind.  Of  course 
the  greater  part  of  the  time  should  be  given  to  the  con- 
sideration of  the  lesson  for  the  following  Sunday ;  and 
yet  this  meeting  is  not  so  much  to  prepare  the  lesson,  as 
to  study  the  methods  of  presenting  the  lesson.  We  have 
many  valuable  lesson  helps  which  throw  light  upon  the 
lessons  and  place  at  our  disposal  more  than  we  can  pos- 
sibly teach. 

The  teachers'  meeting,  however,  will  enable  the  teach- 
ers and  workers  to  assist  one  another,  by  giving  to  each 
one  the  benefit  of  the  study  and  ideas  of  all.  It  will  tend 
to  unify  the  teaching  in  the  school,  and  this  is  important. 
There  should  be  ample  time  given,  also,  for  the  consid- 
eration of  anything  regarding  the  management  of  the 
school,  including  the  duties  of  all  the  officers.  Discus- 
sions concerning  the  grading  of  the  school,  the  library, 
the  preparations  for  Christmas,  Easter  and  similar  occa- 
sions, and,  indeed,  anything  else  which  has  to  do  with  the 


The  Teachers'  Meeting  99 

welfare  of  the  school,  are  as  appropriate  at  the  teachers' 
meeting  as  is  the  treatment  of  the  lesson.  Help  should 
be  rendered  where  help  is  needed,  and  when  all  the 
officers,  as  well  as  the  teachers,  understand  that  they  will 
all  get  something  at  the  teachers'  meeting  which  will  help 
them  in  their  particular  work,  they  will  be  likely  to  at- 
tend. The  teachers'  meeting  enables  the  school  to  con- 
centrate its  endeavours  to  the  strengthening  of  the  weak 
places.  I  am  not  sure  but  that  "  The  Weekly  Sunday- 
school  Council "  or  "  The  Sunday-school  Workers'  Meet- 
ing "  would  be  a  better  name  than  "  Teachers'  Meeting." 
\Vhen  and  Where  ?  If  possible,  always  have  a  fixed 
night  and  always  meet  at  the  church.  The  advantages 
of  a  fixed  time  and  place  are  obvious.  Those  who  are 
absent  from  one  teachers'  meeting  or  from  the  school, 
will  know  exactly  when  and  where  it  is  to  meet  the  next 
time.  Besides,  at  the  church  you  have  the  conveniences 
for  the  meeting,  such  as  a  blackboard,  maps,  etc.,  which 
you  do  not  find  in  a  private  house.  It  is  desirable  to 
give  a  whole  evening  to  it,  and  this  will  be  found  little 
enough  when  its  real  value  is  understood.  A  teachers' 
meeting  tacked  on  before  or  after  another  meeting,  while 
a  great  deal  better  than  none  at  all,  falls  far  short  of  the 
possibilities  of  this  agency.  As  to  the  best  time  in  the 
week,  we  favour  Friday  night  if  it  does  not  conflict  with 
the  prayer-meeting,  for  the  reason  that  it  is  nearer  Sun- 
day. The  teachers  will  have  had  time  to  study  the  les- 
son, and  consequently  their  exchange  of  views  will  make 
the  meeting  brighter,  and  their  thoughts  more  helpful  to 
one  another.  However,  any  night  in  the  week,  provided 
you  can  have  the  whole  evening,  is  better  than  any  other 
night  on  which  you  can  have  but  part  of  the  evening. 


loo       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

Some  will  say  that  they  cannot  spend  two  nights  a  week, 
giving  one  each  to  the  prayer-meeting  and  the  teachers' 
meeting.  We  have  often  heard  this,  and  used  to  believe 
it ;  but  our  observation  is  that  in  practice  it  is  not  so. 
If  the  two  meetings  are  properly  conducted,  the  one 
should  create  a  rehsh  for  the  other. 

Fundamental  Features.  There  are  three  :  i.  Devo- 
tional Exercises,     2.     Instruction.     3.     Details. 

(i)  The  devotional  exercises  should  not  be  crowded 
into  a  corner.  We  should  never  be  so  hurried  that  we 
cannot  take  time  for  prayer  and  song.  There  ought  to 
be  much  prayer ;  prayer  not  only  for  the  school  itself, 
but  especially  for  the  next  Sunday's  service ;  prayer  for 
the  sick,  for  the  dying,  for  the  absent,  for  those  who  are 
spiritually  interested,  for  the  indifferent. 

(2)  The  instruction  at  the  meeting  should  include  not 
only  the  treatment  of  the  lesson  for  the  following  Sunday, 
but  also  any  supplemental  work  that  may  be  done  as  a 
regular  part  of  the  program,  and  in  addition,  the  dis- 
cussion of  practical  methods  of  Sunday-school  work. 

(3)  Under  the  head  of  details,  everything  should  be 
included  that  has  to  do  with  the  Sunday-school  manage- 
ment, together  with  the  hearing  of  reports,  making  an- 
nouncements, planning  for  coming  events  and  the  Hke. 

The  relation  of  these  general  divisions  to  one  another 
will  be  best  determined  by  local  needs,  but  we  should 
say,  on  general  principles,  that  the  discussion  of  the  lesson 
for  the  following  Sunday  should  take  about  half  the  time 
of  the  entire  session.  Divide  the  rest  of  the  time  about 
evenly  between  the  devotional  exercises  and  the  details. 
An  hour  and  a  quarter  is  quite  short  enough ;  an  hour 
and  a  half  is  much  better  for  the  whole  meetinsf. 


The  Teachers'  Meeting  loi 

Special  Features.  Monotony  will  take  the  edge  off  of 
anything ;  the  teachers'  meeting  is  no  exception.  There 
should  be  as  much  variety  in  the  program  of  the  meeting 
as  is  consistent  with  its  general  plan  and  purpose.  A 
few  things  are  here  suggested  that  have  been  tried  with 
success. 

1.  A  ten-minute  drill,  designed  to  aid  the  teachers 
along  the  line  of  pedagogy,  Bible  history,  geography,  etc. 

2.  A  short  paper,  not  over  seven  or  eight  minutes  in 
length,  on  some  practical  theme  of  Sunday-school  work, 
either  general  or  local,  the  subject  having  been  previously 
assigned  and  the  writer  notified.  The  following  topics 
for  consideration  will  sufficiently  indicate  the  kind  of  sub- 
jects which  may  be  suitable  and  profitable : 

How  may  we  increase  our  membership  ?  How  get  the 
most  out  of  a  lesson  help  ?  Shall  we  try  to  have  a 
library?  The  social  side  of  our  school  life.  My  idea  of 
a  good  teacher.  (Given  by  several  scholars.)  What 
about  new  song-books  ?  How  increase  our  missionary 
offering  ?  How  shall  we  observe  Christmas  ?  Our  duty 
to  absent  and  irregular  scholars.  The  value  of  class 
organization,  etc.,  etc. 

As  a  practical  illustration,  the  following  items  were  re- 
cently considered  in  our  meeting  : 

(i)  Shall  we  practice  for  and  have  a  fire  drill  in  our 
school  occasionally  ? 

(2)  What  can  we  omit  from  the  opening  or  closing 
exercises  of  the  school  in  order  to  give  the  teachers  more 
time  with  their  classes  ? 

(3)  Would  it  be  feasible  to  run  the  school  to 
1:10  p.  M,  (thus  adding  ten  minutes),  to  accomplish  the 
above  result  ? 


102        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

(4)  Shall  we  change  the  school  to  the  afternoon,  run- 
ning from  2:30  to  4:00,  so  we  may  have  ample  time? 

(5)  What  can  we  do  to  hasten  the  coming  of  our  new 
"  Model  Sunday  School  Building  "  ? 

3.  Occasionally  a  meeting  might  be  designated  as 
"  scholars'  night,"  each  teacher  being  requested  to  bring 
one  member  of  his  class,  that  the  scholars  may  see  what 
the  teachers'  meeting  is. 

4.  In  schools  of  considerable  size  it  will  be  pleasant 
and  profitable  to  put  the  devotional  exercises  of  the 
teachers'  meeting  for  one  night  in  charge  of  the  officers 
of  a  given  department  of  the  school.  For  instance,  sup- 
pose you  have  a  cradle  roll ;  let  the  superintendent  of  the 
cradle  roll  department  take  charge  of  the  devotional 
exercises  at  one  meeting.  This  officer  would  open  the 
meeting  in  the  usual  way,  except  that  the  hymns  and 
prayers,  and  Scripture  reading  also,  would  be  appropriate 
to  the  cradle  roll  work.  Then  a  brief  report  of  the 
department  would  be  given,  stating  how  many  members 
they  have,  and  how  the  teachers  can  help  to  carry  for- 
ward the  work  of  the  department,  reciting  also  any  cases 
of  special  interest ;  this  to  be  followed  by  a  season  of 
prayer  for  that  department.  In  the  same  way,  on  another 
night,  the  home  department  could  be  considered ;  then 
the  beginners,  primaries,  juniors,  intermediates,  young 
men,  adults,  etc.  Also,  give  a  night  to  such  other 
activities  as  the  sunshine  band,  the  messenger  boys, 
etc. 

5.  Devote  ten  minutes  at  each  session  to  an  "  imag- 
inary tour "  through  the  countries  mentioned  in  the 
lessons.  Appoint  in  advance  one  person  to  read  a  letter, 
which  would   purport   to  have  been   written  from  the 


The  Teachers'  Meeting  103 

scene  of  the  lesson  for  that  evening  and  at  the  very  time 
the  incident  occurred.  Suppose,  for  instance,  the  lessons 
are  from  the  gospels.  Letters  could  be  written  from 
such  points  as  "  Bethlehem,"  "  Jerusalem,"  "  Jordan's 
Banks,"  "  Nazareth,"  "  Capernaum,"  "  Sea  of  Galilee," 
following  the  course  of  lessons  as  closely  as  possible. 
Each  paper  should  begin  where  the  preceding  one  left 
off,  and  thus  keep  the  imaginary  party  in  constant  com- 
pany with  those  concerning  whom  they  are  studying. 
The  scheme  is  the  same  as  that  worked  out  in  the  book 
entitled,  "  The  Prince  of  the  House  of  David,"  though, 
of  course,  on  a  smaller  scale.  This  plan  has  worked 
admirably  with  us  on  several  occasions. 

6.  It  is  a  good  thing  to  have  some  special  objects  for 
prayer  at  each  meeting  during,  say,  a  quarter.  Suppose 
at  one  teachers'  meeting  the  superintendent  should  make 
this  announcement :  "  Our  special  prayer  for  the  coming 
week  and  at  the  next  teachers'  meeting  will  be  for  the 
young  men's  department,"  or,  "  for  God's  blessing  upon 
our  decision  day,"  or,  "  that  the  Lord  will  send  us  more 
teachers."  The  good  effect  of  this  is  that  it  secures  the 
concentration  of  the  thought  of  all,  and  the  prayers  of  all, 
on  the  same  thing. 

Caution.  Do  not  try  to  have  more  than  one  of  these 
special  features  in  operation  at  one  time. 

Who  Should  be  in  Charge?  The  superintendent. 
It  is  his  meeting.  But  it  does  not  follow  that  he  should 
teach  the  lesson.  That  should  be  done  by  the  person 
best  adapted  to  do  it,  the  superintendent,  however,  being 
in  general  charge  of  the  meeting.  It  is  really  his 
cabinet,  his  board  of  counsellors,  and  he  should  there 
be  free  to  present  anything  that  needs  to  be  considered 


104       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

relative  to  the  welfare  of  the  school.  Indeed,  he  should 
have  a  carefully  prepared  schedule  for  each  meeting, 
having  previously  decided  upon  what  items  must  receive 
attention. 

Who  Should  Teach  the  Lesson?  If  you  have  in 
your  church  one  person  who  is  especially  fitted  to  do 
this  particular  work  of  teaching  the  preparatory  lesson, 
whether  it  be  pastor,  superintendent,  or  teacher,  that  is 
the  person  who  should  be  placed  in  charge  of  the  lesson 
period.  There  are  many  advantages  in  this  arrangement, 
chief  among  which  is  that  one  regular  leader  can  plan 
his  work  in  advance  and  maintain  greater  continuity  of 
study  than  could  be  secured  in  any  other  w^ay.  In  most 
churches  the  pastor  is  best  fitted  for  this  work.  In  many 
churches,  however,  there  is  no  one  person  who  can  be 
depended  upon  continually  and  some  other  plan  must  be 
devised.  Sometimes  it  is  well  to  select  a  few  of  your 
best  teachers,  and  have  them  take  turns  in  teaching  the 
lesson.  Another  very  helpful  way,  and  one  which  can 
be  used  in  any  school,  whether  they  have  a  good  leader 
or  not,  is  by  the  use  of  "  angles,"  to  which  reference  will 
be  made  later. 

Methods  of  Conducting  the  Lesson  Period,  i.  Prob- 
ably the  most  common  method  is  that  of  having  one 
teacher  conduct  the  lesson  study  regularly.  If  this 
method  is  followed,  the  leader  should  not  lecture  to  the 
teachers.  Not  one  instructor  in  a  hundred  can  profita- 
bly lead  a  teachers'  meeting  indefinitely  by  the  lecture 
method.  The  cemetery  is  full  of  teachers'  meetings 
that  have  been  talked  to  death,  and  their  phantoms  rise 
up  to  haunt  us.  Other  things  being  equal,  that  teachers' 
meeting  is  most  profitable  which  has  the  largest  number 


The  Teachers'  Meeting  105 

of  contributors,  providing  they  are  all  cooperating  under 
the  direction  of  a  wise  leader. 

2.  Occasionally  it  is  a  good  plan  for  the  leader  to 
pretend  that  the  teachers  are  all  primary  scholars,  or 
juniors,  or  intermediates,  or  young  people,  and  to  teach 
them  accordingly.  This  custom  is  prevalent  in  primary 
unions,  but  it  may  be  profitably  applied  in  regular 
teachers'  meetings  where  workers  of  all  grades  are 
found. 

3.  In  some  teachers'  meetings  the  lesson  is  taught 
briefly  twice  and  even  three  times,  each  treatment  being 
given  by  a  person  representing  some  one  department  in 
the  school.  For  instance,  the  primary  teacher  would  go 
over  the  lesson,  bringing  out  those  features  which  are 
most  helpful  to  primary  workers.  Then  a  teacher  of 
boys  or  girls  would  do  the  same  thing,  having  in  mind 
that  department ;  then,  perhaps,  a  third  leader  would 
treat  the  lesson  from  the  standpoint  of  an  adult  class. 
This  method  is  not  generally  satisfactory,  but  many 
like  it. 

4.  One  of  the  most  helpful  methods  we  have  found 
is  to  assign  a  specific  thought  to  each  of  a  dozen 
teachers,  upon  which  each  one  will  prepare  and,  at  the 
meeting,  present  his  one  particular  feature.  This  is 
commonly  called  the  "  angle  "  method.  The  writer  and 
many  others  have  found  it  highly  valuable,  and  it  is 
growing  in  favour.  It  has  two  great  advantages :  First, 
a  skilled  leader  is  not  necessary,  though,  of  course,  it  is 
very  desirable  to  have  one  ;  almost  anybody  is  willing  to 
lead  the  teachers'  meeting  by  this  method.  Then,  in  the 
second  place,  you  are  sure  of  at  least  a  dozen  or  so  of 
people  who  will  be  ready  to  give  thoughts  upon  the 


io6   How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

lesson  from  as  many  different  "  angles."  The  explana- 
tion of  these  "  angles  "  is  usually  placed  upon  a  little 
leaflet,  each  of  the  "  angles  "  being  numbered.  These 
leaflets  are  handed  out  several  weeks  in  advance,  by  the 
one  who  is  to  lead  the  teachers'  meeting,  to  those  from 
whom  he  desires  assistance,  assigning  one  "  angle "  to 
each  person.  By  looking  over  the  following  list  of 
"  angles  "  the  scheme  will  be  very  easily  understood.  It 
should  be  made  plain  that  all  present  are  invited  to  ask 
questions  or  in  any  other  way  contribute  to  the  meeting. 
The  lesson  leader  is  expected  to  be  prepared  on  all  the 
"  angles  "  so  as  to  take  the  place  of  any  who  may  be 
absent,  and  to  supplement  such  answers  as  may  not  be 
sufficiently  complete.  Of  course  those  holding  the 
"  angles  "  should  be  careful  not  to  cover  more  ground 
than  that  which  is  implied  in  their  own  "  angle." 

Angle  No.   i.     Approach. 

Give  subject  of  last  lesson,  brief  treatment  of  interven- 
ing history,  time,  place  and  circumstances  leading  up  to 
this  lesson. 

Angle  No.  2.     The  Lesson  Story. 

Give  the  lesson  story  in  your  own  words. 

Angle  No.  3.     Analysis. 

Give  a  simple  working  outline  for  studying  and  teach- 
ing the  lesson. 

Angle  No.  4.     References. 

Give  helpful  references  and  parallel  passages,  showing 
how  they  bear  upon  the  lesson. 

Angle  No.  5.     Biography. 

Give  names  of  persons,  classes  and  nations  mentioned 
or  referred  to. 


The  Teachers'  Meeting  107 

Angle  No,  6.     Orientalisms. 

Give  any  Oriental  customs  or  manners  peculiar  to  this 
lesson. 

Angle  No.  7.     Pyincipal  Teachings. 

Give  the  principal  truths  most  forcibly  taught. 

Angle  No.  8.     First  Step. 

Give  a  good  way  to  introduce  this  lesson  to  your  class 
so  as  to  secure  attention  from  the  start. 

Angle  No.  9.     Primary. 

Give  the  features  of  this  lesson  which  are  best  adapted 
to  small  children. 

Angle  No.  10.     Objects. 

Give  list  of  any  objects  which  might  be  profitably 
shown  in  teaching  this  lesson. 

Angle  No.   11.     Illustrations. 

Give  a  few  incidents  or  facts  that  will  serve  as  illustra- 
tions. 

Angle  No.  i  2.     Practical  Points. 
Give  the  most  practical  points  in  personally  applying 
the  lesson  to  the  every-day  life  of  the  scholars. 

Equipment.  A  good  blackboard  is  indispensable.  If 
there  is  not  a  blackboard  built  into  the  wall,  as  in  a  pub- 
lic-school building,  we  recommend  the  patent  revolving 
board  as  the  next  best  thing.  It  is  very  light,  con- 
venient and  sightly.  Lecturer's  chalk  is  preferable  to 
ordinary  school  crayon.  Get  two  sizes,  one  having 
the  sticks  one  inch  square  and  three  inches  long,  and 
coming  in  colours,  six  sticks  in  a  box ;  the  other  is  made 
one-half  inch  square  and  three  inches  long,  and  comes 


io8       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

twelve  sticks  in  a  box.  Plain,  simple  lettering  is 
always  the  best,  and  no  stroke  of  the  crayon  should 
ever  be  made  which  cannot  be  clearly  seen  across  the 
room. 

There  should  be  at  least  three  maps,  one  of  Palestine, 
another  showing  all  the  lands  of  the  Bible,  and  a  third 
outlining  Paul's  missionary  journeys.  Other  maps  may 
be  useful,  but  these  will  suffice.  It  is  better  to  have 
maps  which  roll  up  out  of  the  way.  They  last  longer 
and  will  keep  cleaner.  George  P.  Perry's  chart,  entitled 
"  The  Life  of  Christ,"  is  also  very  desirable,  and  like- 
wise a  relief  map  of  Palestine.  I  Avould  particularly 
recommend,  also,  a  teachers'  library.  A  collection  of 
fifty  or  more  choice  books,  selected  with  a  view  of  as- 
sisting, informing,  inspiring  and  guiding  the  teachers, 
will  do  the  Sunday-school  more  good  than  a  scholars' 
library  of  several  times  that  number  of  volumes.  A  list 
of  "  Best  Books  for  Sunday-school  Workers  "  will  be 
found  in  the  Appendix. 

Who  Should  Attend  ?  Certainly  the  pastor  if  he  can 
possibly  do  so.  At  no  other  time  or  place  can  he  come 
into  such  close  touch  with  the  forces  that  are  to  win 
members  for  the  church. 

Certainly  the  superintendent  and  all  his  assistants,  to- 
gether with  all  the  officers  of  the  school  ought  to  be 
there,  both  that  they  may  know  what  is  going  on.  and 
that  they  may  get  help  for  their  special  work. 

Certainly  all  the  teachers.  We  say,  without  hesitation, 
that  the  teacher  who  can  attend  the  teachers'  meeting 
and  docs  not  do  so  is  showing  neither  the  kind  nor  the 
degree  of  interest  that  is  essential  to  any  measure  of  suc- 
cess.    We  believe,  however,  that,  as  a  rule,  teachers  will 


The  Teachers'  Meeting  I09 

come  unless  unavoidably  hindered,  if  they  are  helped  by 
the  meeting,  and  it  is  made  worth  their  while. 

In  addition  to  the  above  classes  of  persons  who  should 
attend,  we  would  name  two  more :  First,  the  supply 
teachers,  i.  c,  those  who  are  to  take  the  places  of  any 
teachers  who  may  be  absent ;  and  also,  the  prospective 
teachers,  those  who  are  looking  forward  to  occupying 
the  teacher's  office.  These  may  be,  at  present,  members 
of  the  teacher  training  class  and  this  meeting  will  be  a 
very  great  help  to  them. 

How  to  Work  up  the  Attendance.  First  of  all,  the 
best  attraction  is  to  have  a  good,  helpful,  live  teachers' 
meeting.  Make  it  worth  attending.  However,  even 
then,  not  all  of  those  you  desire  to  reach  will  come. 
What  shall  we  do  then  ?  Keep  inviting  them.  Try  to 
lay  it  upon  the  heart  of  each  department  superintendent 
to  have  all  his  officers  and  teachers  present  at  this  meet- 
ing. We  have  often  done  this  by  putting  figures  on  the 
board.  For  instance,  the  superintendent  of  the  school, 
calling  the  roll  of  the  departments,  at  the  close  of  the 
meeting,  the  primary  superintendent  would  report, 
'  We  have  ten  officers  and  teachers  present,  six  absent." 
Enter  this  upon  the  board.  Call  the  various  depart- 
ments in  this  way.  When  the  figures  are  all  before  the 
teachers  they  can  see  what  department  is  showing  up  the 
best  at  the  teachers'  meeting. 

Another  good  way  is  to  encourage  the  teachers  who 
are  present  and  are  interested,  to  speak  about  the  meet- 
ing on  the  next  Sunday  to  those  teachers  who  sit  near 
them  in  the  school,  who  did  not  attend,  urging  them  to 
come  to  the  next  teachers'  meeting. 

Always  announce  the  teachers'  meeting  in  the  Sun- 


no       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

day-school.  Do  not  scold  the  teachers  for  not  com- 
ing, but  announce  the  meeting  in  such  a  way  that  those 
who  do  not  come  will  feel  that  they  are  missing  some- 
thing. Send  personal  letters  to  those  who  are  absent, 
taking  it  for  granted  that  all  the  officers  and  teachers 
will  be  there  if  they  can.  Teachers,  like  scholars,  will 
for  the  most  part  do  what  you  expect  them  to  do.  Even 
if  you  have  the  best  teachers'  meeting  in  the  world,  it 
will  take  special  effort,  and  a  great  deal  of  it  to  get 
some  of  your  teachers  to  attend.  However,  keep  at  it. 
Never  give  up. 

The  Quarterly  Teachers'  Meeting.  If  the  teachers' 
meeting  is  held  every  week,  there  is  always  one  meeting 
in  the  quarter  when  there  is  no  lesson  to  study.  This 
is  the  one  preceding  review  Sunday,  the  last  of  the  quar- 
ter. Do  not,  on  any  account,  give  up  this  meeting.  It 
is  the  most  important  of  all.  Definite  plans  for  review- 
ing the  quarter's  lessons  should  be  made.  It  can  also  be 
profitably  used  for  several  other  purposes.  First,  it  gives 
an  admirable  opportunity  to  review  the  work  of  the  past 
quarter  and  to  plan  for  the  next  one.  Also  to  look  over 
the  school  in  general  and  discover,  if  possible,  where  the 
weak  places  are,  and  plan  to  strengthen  them.  At 
this  meeting  it  is  worth  while  to  have  the  full  roll- 
call  of  all  officers  and  teachers.  There  may  be  op- 
portunity also  for  a  brief  talk  from  the  pastor,  or  pos- 
sibly from  some  one  invited  in  from  outside.  It  is  well 
also  to  have  a  special  prayer  service  for  the  blessing  of 
God  upon  the  work. 

It  would  not  be  out  of  place  to  have  some  refresh- 
ments at  this  quarterly  meeting.  Meetings  of  this  kind 
are  just  as  valuable  to  the  Sunday-school  as  the  meetings 


The  Teachers'  Meeting  ill 

of  the  bank  directors  are  to  the  bank.  Just  in  proportion 
as  the  work  of  the  school  is  laid  upon  the  hearts  of 
those  who  are  responsible  for  it,  the  school  will  prosper. 

Finally.  Remember  that  everything  that  is  really 
worth  while  costs  much  effort  and  persevering  labour. 
Determine  not  only  to  Jiave  a  teachers'  meeting,  but  to 
have  the  very  best  teachers'  meeting  possible,  and  by 
God's  blessing  you  will  have  it. 

"  Plan  your  work,  then  work  your  plan." 


X 

INSTALLATION  OF  OFFICERS  AND  TEACHERS 

The  benefits  of  a  service  for  the  installation  of  officers 
and  teachers  must  be  apparent  to  all.  It  enables  the 
pastor  in  a  vivid  manner  to  call  the  attention  of  the  whole 
church  to  the  importance  of  the  Sunday-school  work,  and 
to  impress  upon  the  officers  and  teachers  their  responsi- 
bility in  the  positions  they  hold.  Officers  thus  inducted 
into  their  office  are  apt  to  attach  more  importance  to 
their  work  than  they  otherwise  would. 

Our  church  year  begins  October  ist.  On  the  last 
Sunday  of  the  year,  which  of  course  would  be  the  last 
Sunday  of  September,  the  morning  church  service  is 
given  over  to  the  Sunday-school  for  the  purpose  of 
recognizing  and  installing  the  officers  and  teachers  for 
the  new  year.  This  service  is  in  charge  of  the  pastor. 
The  middle  section  of  seats  is  reserved  for  the  officers 
and  teachers,  who  number  about  one  hundred  and  fifty. 
The  regular  church  audience,  aside  from  these  workers, 
occupies  the  rest  of  the  building.  The  workers  assemble 
in  the  rear  room  and  enter  in  a  body,  the  officers  and 
teachers  of  each  department  sitting  together  as  far  as 
possible,  as  also  do  the  members  of  the  various  com- 
mittees. 

We  give  below  an  outline  of  this  service  as  usually 
conducted  in  our  church.  It  is  somewhat  more  elaborate 
than  would  be  necessary  in  a  small  school,  but  it  may 
serve  to  give  an  idea  of  what  may  be  made  out  of  an 

112 


Installation  of  Officers  and  Teachers       113 

installation  service.  Printed  slips  containing  the  respon- 
sive readings,  as  given  below,  are  supplied  to  all  in  the 
building.  The  object  in  reproducing  the  scripture  read- 
ings is  to  show  how  the  verses  are  fitted  to  the  depart- 
ment or  to  the  committee  reading  them. 

Sometimes  the  sermon  is  given  by  some  one  else  than 
the  pastor.  At  our  last  installation  service  Dr.  John 
Potts  officiated — our  pastor  leading  in  all  the  exercises 
except  the  sermon. 

The  following  order  of  service  is  usually 
arranged    to  make  a   four  page    leaflet. 

[Cover  page] 

Installation  Service 

of  the 

Officers,  Teachers  and  Workers 

of  the 

Washington  Street  Congregational 
Sunday  School 

Toledo,  Ohio 


1 1 4        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

©rt)cr  of  Service 

1.  Organ   Voluntary.     (Sunday-school  Workers   enter   and   occupy 
reserved  seats.) 

2.  Doxology. 

3.  Invocation. 

4.  Gloria  Patri. 

5.  Hymn.     (Tune,  Naomi.) 

1.  Thy  Word  is  like  a  deep,  deep  mine, 

And  jewels  rich  and  rare 
Are  hidden  in  its  mighty  depths, 
For  every  searcher  there. 

2.  Thy  wrord  is  like  an  armoury 

Where  soldiers  may  repair. 
And  find  for  life's  long  battle  day. 
All  needful  weapons  there. 

3.  Oh,  may  I  find  my  armour  there. 

Thy  Word  my  trusty  sword ; 
I'll  learn  to  fight  with  every  foe. 
The  battle  of  the  Lord. 


Scripture  Selection,  Psalm  119:  1-16,  ...        Pastor. 

Anthem.     "  Te  Deum  Laudamus,"  Tours. 

Prayer, Pastor. 

9.     Morning  Offering. 

10.  Statement  by  Pastor  of  the  object  of  this  service. 

11.  Note.  The  names  of  the  workers  in  our  Sunday-school  who  are 
to  be  installed  to-day  for  the  work  of  the  new  year  are  found  on  the  fourth 
page  of  this  leaflet. 

12.  Responsive  Service, Pastor. 

Pastor. — I  beseech  you  therefore,  brethren,  by  the  mercies  of  God,  that 
ye  present  your  bodies  a  living  sacrifice,  holy,  acceptable  unto  God,  which 
is  your  reasonable  service Rom.  12:  i. 

General  Officers. — Feed  the  flock  of  God  which  is  among  you,  taking 
the  oversight  thereof,  not  by  constraint,  but  willingly ;  not  for  filthy  lucre. 


Installation  of*  Officers  and  Teachers       115 

but  of  a  ready  mind ;  and  when  the  chief  Shepherd  shall  appear,  ye  shall 
receive  a  crown  of  glory  that  fadeth  not  away. —  I  Pet.  5:  2-4. 

Pastor. — And  be  not  conformed  to  this  world :  but  be  ye  transformed 
by  the  renewing  of  your  mind,  that  ye  may  prove  what  is  that  good,  and 
acceptable,  and  perfect  will  of  God. — Rom.  12 :  2. 

Door-men. — For  a  day  in  Thy  courts  is  better  than  a  thousand.  I  had 
rather  be  a  doorkeeper  in  the  house  of  my  God,  than  to  dwell  in  the  tents 
of  wickedness. — Ps.  84  :  10. 

Pastor. — For  I  say,  through  the  grace  given  unto  me,  to  every  man 
that  is  among  you,  not  to  think  of  himself  more  highly  than  he  ought  to 
think ;  but  to  think  soberly,  according  as  God  hath  dealt  to  every  man  the 
measure  of  faith. — Rom.  12:  3. 

Courtesy  Committee. — A  man  that  hath  friends  must  show  himself 
friendly;  and  there  is  a  friend  that  sticketh  closer  than  a  brother. — 
Prov.  18 ;  24. 

Pastor. — For  as  we  have  many  members  in  one  body,  and  all  members 
have  not  the  same  office  :  So  we,  being  many,  are  one  body  in  Christ,  and 
every  one  members  one  of  another. — Rom.  12:  4,  5. 

Cradle  Roll  Superintendent  and  Assistants. — But  Jesus  said.  Suffer  little 
children,  and  forbid  them  not,  to  come  unto  Me :  for  of  such  is  the  king- 
dom of  heaven. — Matt,  19  :  14. 

Pastor. — Having  then  gifts  differing  according  to  the  grace  that  is  given 
to  us,  whether  prophecy,  let  us  prophesy  according  to  the  proportion  of 
faith  :  Or  ministry,  let  us  wait  on  our  ministering ;  or  he  that  teacheth,  on 
teaching. — Rom.  12:  6,7. 

Beginners,  Officers  and  Teachers. — Verily  I  say  unto  you.  Whosoever 
shall  not  receive  the  kingdom  of  God  as  a  little  child,  he  shall  not  enter 
therein. —  Mark  10:  15. 

Pastor. — And  whatsoever  ye  do,  do  it  heartily,  as  to  the  Lord,  and  not 
unto  men. — Col.  3  :  23. 

Primary  Officers  and  Teachers. — And  Jesus,  perceiving  the  thought  of 
their  heart,  took  a  child,  and  set  him  by  Him,  And  said  unto  them,  Who- 
soever shall  receive  this  child  in  My  name  receiveth  Me ;  and  whosoever 
shall  receive  Me,  receiveth  Him  that  sent  Me :  for  he  that  is  least  among 
you  all,  the  same  shall  be  great. — Luke  9  :  47, 48. 

Pastor. — But  watch  thou  in  all  things,  endure  afflictions,  do  the  work 
of  an  evangelist,  make  full  proof  of  thy  ministry. — 2  Tim.  4 :  5. 


ii6       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

Junior  Officers  and  Teachers. — Remember  now  thy  Creator  in  the  days 
of  thy  youth,  while  the  evil  days  come  not,  nor  the  years  draw  nigh,  when 
thou  shalt  say,  I  have  no  pleasure  in  them. — Eccl.  12 :  i. 

Pastor. — Let  the  word  of  Christ  dwell  in  you  richly  in  all  wisdom ; 
teaching  and  admonishing  one  another  in  psalms  and  hymns  and  spiritual 
songs,  singing  with  grace  in  your  hearts  to  the  Lord. — Col.  3 :  16. 

Intermediate  Officers  and  Teachers. — That  our  sons  may  be  as  plants 
grown  up  in  their  youth  :  that  our  daughters  may  be  as  corner  stones, 
polished  after  the  similitude  of  a  palace.— Ps.  144:  12. 

Pastor. — Consider  what  I  say ;  and  the  Lord  give  thee  understanding 
in  all  things. — 2  Tim.  2:  7. 

Young  Men^s  Officers  and  Teachers. — Wherewithal  shall  a  young  man 
cleanse  his  way?  by  taking  heed  thereto  according  to  Thy  word. — 
Ps.  119:  9. 

Pastor. — That  thou  mayest  walk  in  the  way  of  good  men,  and  keep  the 
paths  of  the  righteous. — Prov.  2 :  20. 

Young  Women^s  Officers  and  Teachers. — Let  Mount  Zion  rejoice,  let 
the  daughters  of  Judah  be  glad,  because  of  Thy  judgments. — Ps.  48:  11. 

Pastor. — Let  not  mercy  and  truth  forsake  thee ;  bind  them  about  thy 
neck  ;  write  them  upon  the  table  of  thine  heart. — Prov.  3  :  3. 

Teacher  Training  Superintendent. — Study  to  shew  thyself  approved 
unto  God,  a  workman  that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed,  rightly  dividing 
the  word  of  truth. — 2  Tim.  2:  15. 

Pastor. — Search  the  Scriptures ;  for  in  them  ye  think  ye  have  eternal 
life  :  and  they  are  they  which  testify  of  Me. — John  5  :  39. 

Senior  Officers  and  Teachers. — All  Scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of 
God,  and  is  profitable  for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruc- 
tion in  righteousness :  That  the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect,  thoroughly 
furnished  unto  all  good  works. — 2  Tim.  3  :  16,  17. 

Pastor. — For  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten 
Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him  should  not  perish,  but  have  ever- 
lasting life. — John  3  :  16. 

Home  Department  Superintendent  and  Visitors. — And  daily  in  the  tem- 
ple, and  in  every  house,  they  ceased  not  to  teach  and  preach  Jesus  Christ. 
— Acts  5  :  42. 

Pastor. — I  charge  thee  therefore  before  God,  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
who  shall  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead  at  His  appearing  and  His  king 


Installation  of  Officers  and  Teachers       117 

dom ;    Preach  the  word,  be  instant  in  season,  out  of  season  ;  reprove,  re- 
buke, exhort  with  all  long  suffering  and  doctrine. — 2  Tim.  4;  I,  2. 

Congregation. — The  Lord  bless  thee,  and  keep  thee  :  The  Lord  make 
His  face  to  shine  upon  thee,  and  be  gracious  unto  thee :  The  Lord  lift  up 
His  countenance  upon  thee,  and  give  thee  peace. — Num.  6 :  24-26. 

13.  Hymn — (Tune,  Uxbridge),        ...        -         Congregation. 

O  teach  me.  Lord,  that  I  may  teach 
The  precious  things  Thou  dost  impart : 

And  wing  my  words  that  they  may  reach 
The  hidden  depths  of  many  a  heart. 

O  fill  me  with  Thy  fullness.  Lord, 

Until  my  very  heart  o'erflow 
In  kindling  thought  and  glowing  word, 

Thy  love  to  tell.  Thy  praise  to  show, 

14.  iastallatioa  Sermon  and  Prayer,         =         Rev.  John  Potts,  D.  D. 

15.  Worker's  Covenant.     All  workers  joining  led  by  the  Pastor. 


Trusting  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  for  strength,  I 
humbly  promise  Him  and  this  Church  that  I  will  be 
faithful  to  the  extent  of  my  ability,  to  all  known  duties 
and  responsibilities  devolving  upon  me  as  a  worker  in 
this  Sunday-school.  I  will  endeavour  to  be  regular  and 
punctual  in  attendance ;  diligent  in  my  lesson  study ; 
loyal  to  the  established  rules  of  the  school ;  consistent  in 
my  example ;  and  will  seek  earnestly  the  salvation  and 
edification  of  the  scholars  and  the  truest  Christian  fel- 
lowship among  the  entire  membership. 


16.     Consecration  Hymn — (Tune,  Dennis),    .         .         . 

1.  Father,  my  spirit  search  : 
Reveal  my  needs  to  me, 

As  now,  a  Worker  in  Thy  Church, 
I  give  myself  to  Thee. 

2.  Thy  lambs  Thou  bid'st  me  feed. 
Feed  me,  O  Shepherd  mine  ; 

If  led  by  Thee,  then  may  I  lead 
My  flock  in  paths  divine. 


All  Unite, 


1 1 8       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

3.     Teach  me  to  love  Thy  word. 
Teach  me  to  do  Thy  will ; 
With  earnest  labours  for  my  Lord 
Help  me  my  life  to  fill. 

17.     Consecration  Prayer  and  Benediction,  ...        Pastor. 

The  last  page  of  the  program  is  used  for  the  names 
of  the  officers  and  teachers. 


XI 

METHODS  OF  SECURING  AND  HOLDING 
MEMBERS 

Dr.  Peloubet  has  said,  "  It  is  a  sin  for  a  school  to  be 
smaller  than  it  can  be."  Certainly  no  school  should  be 
content  not  to  grow ;  and,  if  conditions  are  normal,  a 
healthy  school  will  grow.  It  is  our  purpose  in  this  chap- 
ter to  present  some  usable  methods  for  securing  new 
members.  As  a  principle  it  ought  to  be  stated  that  a 
rapid  growth  is  usually  an  unhealthy  one.  The  late 
B.  F.  Jacobs  used  to  say,  "  God  pity  the  Sunday-school 
that  gets  a  hundred  new  scholars  at  any  one  time." 
Very  few  schools,  however,  need  have  any  fear  on  this 
point;  yet  some  of  the  modern  methods  of  securing 
members  produce  very  rapid  growth.  It  is  possible  to 
pour  cold  water  continuously  into  a  teakettle  when  its 
contents  are  boiling,  and  to  do  it  so  slowly  and  evenly 
that  the  water  will  continue  to  boil  right  along.  But  if 
you  pour  it  in  rapidly  the  boiling  process  will  cease. 
This  illustrates  how  new  scholars  should  be  received  in  a 
Sunday-school.  If  they  come  in  more  rapidly  than  they 
can  be  assimilated  and  properly  cared  for,  there  is  a 
great  danger  of  lowering  the  school  temperature  and  de- 
preciating its  standard  of  work. 

Among  the  various  methods  of  securing  new  members 
we  name  the  following :  — 

I.  The  Personal  Invitation.  One  of  the  large  audi- 
ences which  assembled  to  hear  Jesus  preach  was  called 
together  by  the  "  Come  and  see  "  of  one  woman.  There 
is  no  method  of  invitation  to  compare  with  this.  Super- 
intendents should  persuade  officers,  teachers  and  scholars 
to  cultivate  the  habit  of  personal  invitation. 

119 


120       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

2.  The  Printed  Invitation.  Good  printing  is  always 
a  great  help.  The  printed  invitation  can  often  be  used 
where  the  personal  invitation  cannot  be  given,  and  it  can 
also  be  used  in  connection  with  it.  Use  good  printing 
or  none  at  all.  A  business  concern  which  would  con- 
tinuously put  out  shoddy  printing,  of  cheap  appearance 
and  bungling  style,  will  have  a  low  rating  in  any  com- 
munity. Let  your  printed  matter  be  tasty,  well  arranged, 
in  the  highest  style  of  the  printer's  art.  Always  use 
good  paper  and  frequently  use  colours.  An  invitation 
should  be  short  and  to  the  point.  Every  superintendent 
must  use  his  own  ingenuity,  at  the  same  time  he  may 
profitably  learn  much  from  others.  We  produce  here- 
with some  very  helpful  styles  of  invitations.  The  display 
lines  are  printed  in  red,  the  remainder  in  any  contrasting 
colour. 


A      Happy      Family. 

You  never  saw  a  happier  one,  nor  one  more  united  and  con- 
tented, than  the  more  than  one  thousand  folks — ranging  in  age 
from  a  few  days  old  to  seventy  five  years — who  compose 

The  Washington  Street  Congregational  Sunday-School. 

We  do  have  good  times  together  every  Sunday  from  eleven 
forty-five  to  one  o'clock.  You  couldn't  go  to  sleep  if  you 
wanted  to,  and  you  won't  want  to.  Everybody's  busy.  Just 
like  a  beehive.  Every  feature  counts.  Souls  are  saved. 
God  is  honoured. 

Why   Not   Be  In   It? 

Ernest  Bourner  Allen,  Minister. 
Marion  Lawrance,  Superintendent. 
Application  for  Membership  on  other  side. 


Methods  of  Securing  and  Holding  Members  121 
Every   Sunday   in   the   Year 

As  regularly  as  Sunday  comes,  a  cheery  welcome  awaits  you  at 
the  Washington  Street  Congregational  Church  and  Sunday- 
School,  "  On  the  Point,"  corner  Washington  and  Dorr  Streets. 
(Norwood  Belt  and  Dorr  Street  Car  Lines  pass  the  door. ) 
Preaching  every  Sunday  at  ten  o'clock,  followed  by  the  Sun- 
day-school at  eleven  forty-five.  People's  Popular  Service 
every  Sunday  night  at  seven-thirty.  Our  Sunday-school  has 
suitable  departments  and  classes  for  all — old  and  young.  We 
endeavour  by  good  fellowship  and  cordiality,  spirited  singing,  a 
splendid  orchestra,  earnest  prayers,  short  talks,  telling  testi- 
monies, faithful  Bible  study,  and  a  variety  of  general  exercises, 
to  please  and  help  all  who  come  among  us,  either  as  members 
or  visitors.     Come  next  Sunday  and  see  for  yourself. 

You   will  find  a   welcome  here, 

Ernest  Bourner  Allen,  Minister. 
Marion  Lawrance,  Superintendent. 


TIMES  A  YEAR,'"'^^"''"^'^ 


1^^  m  "^  -1  J- '-^ -■-'«-'  X  A.  M.  M^±.  ^^^'y  ^j.  Sunday 
I  W  comes,  a  cheery  welcome  awaits  you  at  the 
^J^^  Washington  Street  Congregational  Church 
and  Sunday- School,  "  On  the  Pointy  corner 
Washington  and  Dorr  Streets  {Norwood  Belt  and  Dorr 
Street  Car  Lines  pass  the  door^.  Preaching  at  ten  and 
seven-thirty  and  Sunday -scJiool  at  elevefi  forty-five  every 
Sunday.  We  have  suitable  Departments  and  Classes  for 
all  ages  {one  exclusively  for  men).  We  try  by  spirited 
vocal  and  orchestral  music,  short,  earnest  prayers,  faitiiful 
Bible  study  and  a  variety  of  general  exorcises,  to  please, 
interest  and  profit  all  who  come  among  us.  Please  ac- 
cept this  invitation  aiid  come  Next  Sunday. 

MARION  LAWRANCE, 

"We  are  Fearfully  in  Earnest.  superintendent. 


122        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

3.  Districting  the  Territory.  Some  schools  divide  the 
territory  around  their  church  into  small  districts,  putting 
one  or  two  people  in  charge  of  each.  They  are  sup- 
posed to  become  familiar  with  their  fields  and  regularly 
invite  to  their  Sunday-school  those  who  do  not  go  else- 
where. When  newcomers  move  in  those  in  charge  are 
at  once  to  ascertain  the  facts  concerning  the  family  and 
report  them  to  the  school,  after  extending  them  a  per- 
sonal invitation. 

I  am  told  this  method  has  been  in  successful  operation 
for  a  long  time  in  the  Tabernacle  Baptist  Sunday-school 
of  Raleigh,  North  Carolina,  of  which  Hon.  N.  B.  Brough- 
ton  is  superintendent.  When  a  newcomer  in  the  town 
is  discovered  they  make  a  systematic  and  persistent 
effort  to  secure  him ;  that  they  have  large  success  is 
shown  by  the  size  of  this  splendid  school.  If,  for  in- 
stance, the  newcomer  is  a  young  man,  his  name  is  read 
before  the  young  men's  class  ;  some  one  is  specifically 
assigned  to  call  upon  him  on  Monday  ;  another  one  on 
Tuesday ;  another  on  Wednesday,  and  so  on  throughout 
the  week.  Still  another  is  assigned  to  call  for  him  on 
Sunday  morning  at  his  boarding  house,  or  wherever  he 
may  live,  and  endeavour  to  bring  him  to  the  school. 

The  fact  of  a  daily  caller  throughout  the  week  cer- 
tainly gives  the  impression  that  they  are  tremendously  in 
earnest,  and  the  result  is,  one  of  the  largest  schools,  for  a 
city  of  that  size,  anywhere  in  the  country.  It  is  also  one 
of  the  very  best  schools. 

4.  TJie  Red  and  Blue  Contest.  This  method  of  se- 
curing new  members  has  come  into  quite  common  use  in 
many  places.  Usually  the  whole  school  is  divided  into 
two   parts,  each   part   under   a   captain.     The   captains 


Methods  of  Securing  and  Holding  Members   123 

having  been  chosen,  they  themselves  choose  the  mem- 
bers of  the  school.  One  side  is  called  the  "  Reds  "  and 
the  other  the  "  Blues."  Each  member  of  the  two  di 
visions  usually  wears  a  little  bit  of  coloured  ribbon,  one 
side  wearing  red  and  the  other  blue.  Buttons  are  now 
made  and  worn  for  this  purpose.  Each  division  is  prop- 
erly organized  and  starts  out  on  a  canvass  for  new  mem- 
bers. Reports  of  progress  are  publicly  made  to  the  school 
week  by  week,  by  figures  on  the  blackboard,  by  a  large 
imitation  thermometer,  or  any  other  device.  A  time  is 
set  for  the  contest  to  close,  and  great  efforts  are  made 
within  this  time  limit  to  see  which  division  will  secure 
the  most  new  scholars.  At  the  close  of  the  contest  some 
recognition  is  accorded  the  new  members  ;  and  the  de- 
feated side  is  obliged  to  tender  a  reception  or  banquet  to 
their  conquerors. 

I  presume  there  are  cases  where  this  scheme  has 
worked  advantageously  and  without  harm  to  any  one ; 
but  it  is  an  exceedingly  risky  method.  The  scholars  are 
not  always  wise  in  their  efforts  to  secure  new  members. 
They  are  so  anxious  for  their  side  to  "  beat "  that  they 
will  invite  many  who  should  not  be  solicited.  Before 
passing  judgment  upon  the  success  of  any  such  contest, 
it  would  be  well  to  find  out  what  the  other  Sunday- 
schools  in  the  neighbourhood  think  about  it.  Any 
method  which  induces  scholars  to  leave  one  school  and 
join  another  is  wrong.  The  Red  and  Blue  Contest  can 
be  conducted,  however,  without  these  evil  effects  ;  but  it 
requires  great  care  on  the  part  of  those  in  charge, 

5,  Have  a  Limited  Membership.  This  follows  the 
principle  that  what  is  most  difficult  to  secure  is  most 
earnestly  sought.     It  has  worked  exceedingly  well  in 


124       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

some  schools.  The  officers  dctenniuc  how  many  mem- 
bers they  can  conveniently  accommodate  in  their  build- 
ing. This  may  apply  to  the  school  as  a  whole  or  to  the 
school  by  departments.  For  instance,  a  given  building 
may  be  able  to  conveniently  accommodate  one  hundred 
in  its  primary  department.  Set  one  hundred  as  the  limit 
here,  and  receive  no  more.  Use  all  proper  means  to  se- 
cure the  one  hundred,  and  when  they  are  secured  hold 
all  other  applications  upon  a  "  waiting  list,"  to  be  received 
as  vacancies  occur.  When  a  given  department  or  indeed 
the  whole  school  has  reached  its  limit  it  is  possible  to 
make  stricter  regulations  regarding  attendance.  For  in- 
stance, it  might  be  announced  by  the  superintendent  that 
three  Sundays'  absence  without  an  excuse  would  cause 
one  to  lose  his  membership  in  the  school.  If  a  scholar 
liked  the  school  and  knew  that  another  was  waiting  to 
take  his  seat,  he  would  make  unusual  efforts  to  be  pres- 
ent. This  plan,  of  course,  can  only  be  worked  where 
there  is  abundance  of  material  to  work  upon. 

6.  Have  a  Good  School.  A  school  that  is  interesting, 
helpful,  stimulating,  uplifting,  vigorous,  will  of  itself  have 
a  strong  drawing  power.  "  Have  a  good  meal  ready 
when  you  ring  the  bell."  Do  not  indulge  in  any  clap- 
trap attractions  to  build  up  your  membership.  I  heard 
of  a  school  whose  membership  increased  two  hundred  in 
one  week,  simply  because  the  superintendent  announced 
that  on  the  following  Sunday  everybody  who  came  would 
get  a  warm  doughnut.  Scholars  who  come  for  doughnuts 
will  go  when  the  doughnuts  are  gone.  All  such  devices 
do  more  harm  than  good.  In  the  long  run,  the  school 
which  does  honest,  faithful  work  in  the  way  of  Bible 
teaching   and   general  instruction ;    whose  sessions  are 


Methods  of  Securing  and  Holding  Members   125 

carried  on  with  hfe  and  vigour  and  tremendous  earnest- 
ness ;  whose  consuming  desire  is  to  win  souls  for  Christ 
and  build  up  Christian  character,  will  have  little  need  of 
special  effort  to  increase  its  membership. 

Goodness  does  not  depend  on  bigness,  and  many- 
schools  have  been  worshipping  at  the  shrine  of  bigness, 
rather  than  at  the  shrine  of  goodness.  Do  not  seek 
members  for  the  sake  of  numbers,  but  for  the  sake  of 
increasing  your  usefulness.  The  principles  underlying 
a  healthy  growth  are  these: — i.  Have  just  as  good  a 
school  as  possible.  2.  Let  the  people  know  that  you 
are  in  the  business. 

Holding  the  members  is  really  the  test  of  organization. 
The  percentage  of  attendance  to  enrollment  indicates  the 
thoroughness  in  this  direction.  For  example,  it  is  better 
to  have  an  average  attendance  of  five  hundred  out  of  an 
enrollment  of  seven  hundred,  than  it  is  to  have  an  aver- 
age attendance  of  seven  hundred  out  of  an  enrollment  of 
twelve  hundred.  In  the  first  instance  the  percentage  of 
attendance  to  enrollment  is  seventy-one  while  in  the 
other  it  is  but  fifty-eight.  We  labour  under  many  dis- 
advantages. It  is  estimated  that  the  personnel  of  the 
average  Sunday-school  changes  about  twenty  to  twenty- 
five  per  cent,  annually.  In  the  public  school  the  scholars 
are  regular  because  they  must  be ;  but  you  cannot  say 
must  in  a  Sunday-school.  The  power  to  hold  comes 
from  another  source.  Membership  in  a  Sunday-school 
should  mean  something.  The  more  it  can  be  magnified 
and  dignified  the  less  difficulty  there  will  be  in  holding 
the  members.  The  following  suggestions  will  be  help- 
ful:— 

I.     Follow  up  Absejitees.     It  ought  to  be  the  rule  of 


126       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

every  Sunday-school  that  no  member,  from  officer  to 
scholar,  could  be  absent  a  single  Sunday  without  that 
fact  being  noticed.  There  should  be  so  much  system  in 
this  matter  that  if  the  teacher  does  not  look  up  the  ab- 
sentee somebody  else  will.  Our  greatest  leakage  is  at 
this  point.  We  lose  more  scholars  because  they  are 
not  looked  up  than  from  all  other  causes  combined.  A 
scholar  who  can  repeatedly  absent  himself  from  the 
school  without  having  any  attention  paid  to  the  fact 
is  justified  in  the  conclusion  that  they  do  not  care 
much  for  him. 

The  best  way  to  deal  with  an  absentee  is  by  a  personal 
visit  from  the  teacher.  The  teacher  is  better  here  than 
the  pastor,  superintendent  or  church  visitor.  His  visit 
affords  him  one  of  the  choicest  opportunities  he  will  ever 
have.  There  is  a  chance  to  speak  the  personal  word  and 
to  manifest  a  personal  interest.  If  it  is  impossible  for  the 
teacher  to  visit  then  let  him  write  a  personal  letter.  Do 
not  send  a  postal  card.  To  provide  for  the  cases  where 
a  visit  cannot  be  made  the  school  should  have  some 
printed  forms  noticing  the  absence  of  scholars ;  one  of 
these  should  be  sent  to  the  scholar.  The  printed  cards 
will  at  least  give  the  absentees  to  understand  that  they 
were  missed.  Sometimes  a  teacher  can  send  word  to  an 
absent  scholar  by  one  who  is  present.  While  these 
methods  are  good,  none  of  them  can  compare  for 
effectiveness  with  a  personal  visit. 

More  scholars  are  won  for  Christ  by  personal  invita- 
tion than  by  class  work.  While  the  responsibility  for 
this  matter  lies  upon  the  teacher,  the  school  should  help 
the  teacher  in  every  possible  way,  by  looking  up  ab- 
sentees when  the  teacher  cannot  or  does  not  do  it. 


Methods  of  Securing  and  Holding  Members   127 

2.  Care  for  the  Sick.  That  would  be  a  strange 
teacher  who  would  fail  to  use  the  opportunity  afforded 
of  coming  close  to  the  scholar  in  time  of  sickness.  The 
personal  visit,  carrying  some  flowers,  a  picture  card, 
booklet,  fruit,  or  indeed  anything  that  will  interest 
or  please  the  scholar,  will  do  much  to  win  his  heart. 

It  is  wicked  for  a  teacher  to  write  "  left "  after  the 
name  of  an  absent  scholar  without  knowing  or  seeking 
to  know  the  cause  of  the  absence. 

3.  Write  Birthday  Letters.  This  will  strengthen  the 
teacher's  hold  upon  the  scholar  and  thus  reduce  the 
number  of  absences.  Anything  that  can  be  done  to 
establish  the  teacher  in  the  confidence  and  affection  of 
the  scholar  will  do  much  towards  securing  regular  at- 
tendance. The  teacher  should  know  and  recognize  the 
birthday  of  every  scholar  in  the  class.  Here  again  a 
personal  visit  counts  for  most  and  an  autograph  letter  is 
next  in  value.  Printed  forms  are  very  nice  indeed  but 
they  are  not  so  good  as  the  written  letter  or  the  personal 
visit.  One  of  the  printed  forms  used  in  our  own  school 
is  reproduced  in  our  chapter  on  giving. 

4.  Give  Practical  Help.  Sometimes  scholars  are  ab- 
sent because  they  need  suitable  clothing.  Help  judi- 
ciously given  at  this  point  will  do  a  great  deal  of  good 
and  will  increase  interest  in  the  Sunday-school.  Teachers 
of  scholars  old  enough  to  work  should  know  what  they 
are  doing,  where  they  work  and  what  sort  of  work  they 
can  do.  If  any  are  out  of  a  position  one  of  the  best 
ways  to  tie  them  up  permanently  to  the  Sunday-school 
is  to  help  them  get  a  new  position.  Especially  is  this 
true  of  classes  of  working  young  men  and  women.  Many 
classes  are  so  well  organized  that  they  really  become 


128        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

employment  bureaus  for  their  members  who  are  out  of  a 
position. 

5.  Make  the  School  a  Home.  I  know  of  no  power 
so  effective  in  holding  our  scholars  as  to  make  the  school 
a  real  delight  to  all  who  attend.  Use  every  effort  to 
create  a  school  spirit,  a  spirit  of  friendliness.  Call  the 
school  a  family.  Refer  to  absentees  as  causing  vacant 
chairs  about  the  family  hearthstone.  When  any  scholar 
is  in  trouble  refer  to  it  as  trouble  that  has  come  to  the 
family.  This  esprit  dc  corps  should  be  cultivated  all  the 
time.  Our  own  church  is  referred  to  continually  as 
"  Our  Church  Home."  We  try  to  make  it  deserve  the 
name.  We  talk  it  up  and  walk  it  up.  A  large  foliage 
bed  in  front  of  the  building  forms  these  words :  "  Our 
Church  Home  " ;  this  can  be  read  from  the  street  cars. 
All  of  these  things  tend  to  cultivate  that  spirit  of 
fraternity  which  is  so  essential  if  you  wish  to  hold 
your  members.  They  must  be  made  to  feel  that  they 
belong,  not  only  to  the  school  itself,  but  to  all  who 
attend  it. 

We  have  found  a  salute  very  helpful.  We  call  it  the 
"  Pastor's  Salute  "  because  he  suggested  it.  It  is  simply 
the  raising  of  the  hand  above  the  head  and  waving  it. 
Officers,  teachers  and  scholars  recognize  each  other  at  a 
distance  by  this  salute.  It  is  especially  pleasing  to  the 
smaller  children.  Many  times  I  have  been  arrested  in 
my  reverie  while  on  my  way  to  or  from  the  office  or  my 
home  by  the  shrill  call  or  whistle  of  some  children  at  a 
distance ;  upon  looking  up  the  waving  hands  said  to  me, 
"  We  belong,"  and  my  waving  hand  answered,"  So  do  I." 


XII 

THE  PUBLIC  RECEPTION  OF  NEW  MEMBERS 

On  the  last  Sunday  of  each  quarter,  during  the  open- 
ing exercises  of  the  school,  we  give  public  recognition 
to  all  the  new  members  who  have  entered  during  the 
quarter.  There  are  several  benefits  arising  from  this 
custom : — 

1.  It  enables  the  whole  school  to  know  who  the  new 
members  are. 

2.  It  makes  the  school  feel  something  of  a  re- 
sponsibility for  the  proper  treatment  of  these  new 
members. 

3.  It  makes  the  new  members  feel  that  they  are 
welcome. 

4.  It  dignifies  Sunday-school  membership. 

5.  It  strengthens  the  spirit  of  fraternity. 

The  reception  exercises  need  not  take  more  than 
fifteen  minutes,  nor  need  they  interfere  with  any  other 
feature  of  the  session,  especially  as  they  come  on  review 
Sunday.  It  may  be  wise  to  explain  the  program  some- 
what more  in  detail,  and  then  present  an  outline  of  the 
service  as  it  is  now  used. 

At  the  opening  of  the  school,  during  the  playing  of 
an  instrumental  number  by  the  orchestra  or  pianist,  a 
sufficient  number  of  front  seats  are  vacated  to  accommo- 
date the  new  members.  The  new  scholars  then  take 
these  seats,  the  younger  ones  in  the  front  and  the  older 
ones  in  the  rear.     The  row  of  seats  or  chairs  just  behind 

129 


130       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

these  new  members  is  then  occupied  by  those  teachers 
into  whose  classes  new  scholars  have  entered  during  the 
quarter.  When  the  time  comes  to  form  the  "  Love 
Circle,"  to  which  reference  is  made  in  the  exercise  below, 
the  officers  of  the  school  take  their  places  at  the  sides 
and  in  front  of  the  seats  occupied  by  the  new  members, 
and  join  hands  with  one  another  and  with  the  teachers 
seated  behind  the  new  members.  Within  this  "  Love 
Circle  "  are  the  new  members,  also  the  pastor  and  super- 
intendent. While  these  officers  and  teachers  are  stand- 
ing with  their  hands  clasped  the  pastor  leads  in  the 
•«  prayer  of  consecration  and  thanksgiving  "  and  then 
the  "  Greeting  Hymn  "  is  sung. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  over-estimate  the  benefit  ac- 
cruing to  the  school  from  such  a  service  as  this,  when  it 
is  entered  into  with  heartiness.  It  does  much  to  cultivate 
the  school  spirit  and  it  dignifies  the  school  itself.  Follow- 
ing is  presented  one  such  exercise  in  full,  as  a  suggestion. 


IReceptton  Service 

The  Beginners  and  Primaries  will  assemble  in  the  Auditorium  while 
the  orchestra  is  playing 

OUR  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  ODE. 

( Tune — America) 

Dear  Father,  wilt  Thou  bless,  'Tis  here  we  love  to  meet 

And  lead  in  righteousness.  About  our  Saviour's  feet, 

Our  Sunday-school ;  Our  Sunday-school ; 

Grant  that  each  soul  may  be  Now  hear  us  while  wc  pray 

Striving  continually  On  this  sweet  Sabbath  day ; 

To  praise  and  honour  Thee  Take  all  our  sins  away ; 

God  bless  our  School !  God  bless  our  School ! 


The  Public  Reception  of  New  Members    131 

Superintendent. — The  persons  whose  names  appear  on  this  leaflet  have 
been  enrolled  as  members  of  our  Sunday-school  during  the  first  three 
months  of  1905,  and  it  is  our  pleasure  to-day  to  extend  to  them  all 
a  most  cordial  and  hearty  welcome. 

Superintendent. — What  is  our  aim  as  a  School  ? 

School. — "  Every  member  present  every  Sunday,  on  time,  with  his  own 
Bible,  a  liberal  offering,  a  studied  lesson,  and  a  mind  to  learn." 

Superintendent. — What  is  our  watchword? 

School. — "  What  would  Jesus  do  ?  " 

Superintendent. — What  is  our  motto  ? 

School. — "  Remember  Jesus  Christ." 

Pastor. — Words  of  Greeting, 

Superintendent. — (To  the  New  Members.)  You  have  heard  our  words 
of  welcome.  You  have  heard  the  School  repeat  "  Our  Aim,"  «' Our 
Watchword  "  and  "  Our  Motto."  You  have  heard  from  our  Pastor 
the  Meaning  of  Sunday-school  Membership.  Will  you  promise  to 
try,  as  far  as  you  possibly  can,  to  join  with  us  in  carrying  out  the 
high  ideals  of  our  School  ? 

New  Members  Answer. — I  will. 

School. — We  gladly  receive  you.  In  the  name  of  our  common  Lord  we 
bid  you  welcome.  Our  work  is  worthy  of  our  best  endeavour.  We 
promise  to  help  you.  We  expect  you  to  help  us.  Let  us  labour 
together  to  build  each  other  up  in  every  Christian  grace,  and  to 
make  our  beloved  Sunday-school  a  strength  and  credit  to  the  Church, 
and  a  power  for  God  in  our  City  and  in  the  World. 

Superintendent. — In  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ. 

School. — Amen. 

®ur  Xove  Circle 

The  Love  Circle  will  be  formed  by  all  the  officers,  and  the  teachers  of 
classes  in  which  are  new  members,  joining  hands,  within  which  will  be 
the  new  members. 

While  the  circle  is  formed  we  will  sing  the  Reception  Hymn  on  next 
page. 

Pastor. — A  Prayer  of  Consecration  and  Thanksgiving. 

The  Aaronic  Benediction. 
The  different  departments  will  return  to  their  places. 


132       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

RECEPTION  HYMN. 

Written  for  the  Washington  Street  Congregational  Sunday-School,  Toledo,  O. 

We  greet  you  in  our  school  to-day, 

With  song  our  gladness  showing ; 
Come,  walk  with  us  the  heav'nward  way, 

True  love  on  all  bestowing. 
With  glowing  hearts  we  greet 

And  pray,  "  God  bless  you  ever ;  " 
As  here  from  day  to  day  we  meet, 

Thrice  welcome  to  you  all ! 

Refrain. — Thrice  welcome  to  you  all  this  day. 

While  each  for  each  we  humbly  pray 
And  once  again  we  gladly  say 
"  Thrice  welcome  to  you  all !  " 

We  greet  you  in  the  Saviour's  name, 

His  Word  within  us  dwelling  ; 
Come,  spread  abroad  His  wondrous  fame^ 

The  Spirit's  message  telling. 
With  happy  hearts  we  sing 

And  praise  the  Father  holy ; 
May  ev'ry  day  His  mercy  bring 

A  blessing  on  you  all ! — Refrain. 

We  greet  you  for  the  future  bright, 

Our  lives  for  service  yielding ; 
Come,  ready  for  the  harvest  white, 

The  flashing  sickles  wielding. 
With  willing  hearts  we  go 

Forth  where  He  bids  us  labour ; 
To  toil  each  day  and  good  seed  sow, 

God  save  and  guide  you  all  ! — Refrain. 

Note.— The  last  page  of  the  program  contains  the  names  of  all  the 
new  members  by  departments. 


XIII 
THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  GIVING 

Giving  money  for  the  Lord's  work  should  be  regarded 
as  an  act  of  worship,  and  may  be  made  a  means  of  grace. 
Yet,  scarcely  any  other  feature  of  Christian  activity  re- 
ceives so  little  thought  and  consideration.  The  reason 
is  that  in  a  large  proportion  of  our  Sunday-schools  there 
is  no  system  about  it  whatever,  and  consequently  the  re- 
sults are  meager  and  unsatisfactory.  The  church  of  to- 
day does  not  know  how  to  give  as  it  should,  and  this  is 
largely  due  to  the  fact  that  the  members  who  compose  the 
churches  were  not  taught  this  grace  in  the  Sunday-school. 

If  the  present  generation  of  Sunday-school  scholars  is 
taught  the  basic  principles  of  giving  for  the  Lord's  work, 
the  churches  of  the  future  will  give  with  great  liberality 
and  yet  with  ease.  Our  missionary  societies  and  other 
benevolent  agencies  will  not  be  continually  pleading  for 
money  to  make  up  deficits,  nor  will  they  be  obliged  to 
send  out  workers  at  starvation  salaries.  These  things  to- 
day are  a  reflection  upon  the  church.  The  fundamental 
principle  of  all  right  giving  is  a  recognition  of  the  fact 
that  we  are  but  stewards  of  the  Lord's  substance,  whether 
that  substance  be  money,  lands  or  merchandise ;  that  it 
all  belongs  to  Him  ;  and  that  it  is  possible  for  men  to  rob 
God.  The  great  principles  underlying  this  whole  matter 
need  to  be  taught  rather  than  the  mere  detail  of  the  ap- 
plication of  those  principles.  A  few  suggestions  may  be 
helpful  in  the  discussion  of  this  very  important  subject. 

Giving  Should  be  Systematic.  Each  member  of  the 
school,  no  matter  how  rich  or  how  poor  he  may  be,  ought 

^33^ 


134        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

to  settle  with  himself  beforehand  as  to  how  much  he  will 
undertake  to  give  each  Sunday.  Suppose  the  amount  he 
fixes  upon  is  five  cents ;  having  made  the  definite  pledge 
for  that  sum  each  Sunday,  that  five  cents  should  be  given 
with  as  sacred  punctuality  as  an  honest  man  would  evi- 
dence in  paying  his  debts.  It  ought  to  be  looked  upon 
as  the  same  kind  of  a  transaction.  The  failure  to  pay  the 
sum  on  a  given  Sunday,  ought  to  carry  with  it  the  un- 
derstanding that  it  will  be  made  up  on  the  following  Sun- 
day, or  as  soon  thereafter  as  possible.  No  other  thought 
should  ever  enter  the  mind  of  a  member  of  a  Sunday- 
school  than  that  an  absence  on  any  one  Sunday  calls  for 
a  double  offering  on  the  following  Sunday.  This  carries 
with  it  also  the  thought  of  regularity  in  giving. 

Spasmodic  giving  does  not  produce  the  largest  results, 
and  is  no  better  in  cultivating  the  right  spirit  in  giving 
than  spasmodic  eating  would  be  in  cultivating  good 
health.  Regularity  counts  in  giving  as  it  does  in  feeding 
the  body.  It  was  once  my  privilege  to  ride  in  a  farm 
wagon  behind  as  handsome  a  pair  of  horses  as  I  ever 
saw.  They  were  covered  with  heavy  rough  farm  harness, 
but  the  horses  themselves  were  sleek  and  fat,  and  in  as 
good  spirits  as  they  could  be.  I  said  to  the  owner  as  we 
rode  along,  "  You  must  give  these  horses  a  good  deal  to 
eat  to  keep  them  looking  so  well."  His  reply  was,  "  Not 
at  all,  these  horses  eat  very  little ;  but  I  feed  them  regu- 
larly, and  that  is  the  secret  of  their  good  condition." 
Systematic  and  regular  giving  for  the  Lord's  work  and  in 
His  name,  operates  in  just  this  way  upon  the  life  and 
character  of  the  giver. 

On  no  account  would  we  keep  a  record  of  the  amount 
given  by  any  scholar.     Let  the  class  book  or  other  rec- 


The  Sunday  School  Giving  135 

ord  show  simply  the  fact  of  his  giving.  Let  him  keep 
the  matter  of  the  amount  to  himself;  it  is  the  concern 
of  no  one  else.  It  is  a  matter  between  himself  and  God, 
to  whom  he  gives. 

Giving  Should  be  Intelligent.  One  who  gives  simply 
and  only  because  another  asks,  usually  gives  without 
blessing  to  himself  and  often  without  profit  to  others.  It 
is  the  business  and,  indeed,  the  duty  of  any  one  who 
gives  to  the  Lord's  work  to  know  what  he  is  giving  for, 
and  how  the  money  is  to  be  used.  The  story  is  told  of 
a  boy  who  gave  five  cents  towards  the  great  fund  which 
Bishop  McCabe  was  raising  at  one  time.  As  the  bishop 
was  to  speak  in  their  city  on  a  given  day,  the  boy  said 
to  his  mother,  "  I  must  go  and  hear  Bishop  McCabe.  I 
gave  him  five  cents  and  I  want  to  know  what  he  did 
with  it."  That  was  the  boy's  right ;  and  that  spirit  must 
be  back  of  all  inteUigent  giving. 

I  was  very  much  chagrined  many  years  ago  upon  step- 
ping into  the  primary  department  of  a  Sunday-school  to 
hear  the  following :  The  teacher  asked,  "  Children,  what 
is  next  Sunday  ? "  As  the  next  Sunday  was  the  first 
Sunday  of  the  month  a  number  responded,  in  concert, 
"  Missionary  Sunday."  Then  another  question,  "  What 
are  you  to  bring  next  Sunday  ? "  And  the  response 
came  back,  "  Some  extra  money."  "  What  for  ?  "  said 
the  teacher.  To  my  amazement  a  number  of  scholars 
responded,  "  To  pay  for  the  picture  cards."  It  was  the 
custom  on  Missionary  Sunday  to  give  a  picture  card  to 
each  scholar  and,  while  this  teacher  had  not  intended  it 
so,  the  scholars  had  been  given  the  idea  that  the  extra 
offering  was  to  pay  for  these  cards,  when  in  fact  the  ex- 
tra money  was  all  given  for  missionary  purposes. 


136        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

Two  primary  scholars  are  said  to  have  been  talking 
about  their  teacher.  One  said,  "  Do  you  know  that  our 
Sunday-school  teacher  chews  gum  ?  "  The  other  said, 
"  Weil  she  can  afford  to  when  we  give  her  all  our  pen- 
nies." It  is  impossible  to  give  intelligently  except  there 
be  clear  knowledge  of  the  purpose  to  which  the  money 
is  to  be  applied.  A  well  explained  benevolence  before 
any  audience  will  largely  increase  the  giving  for  that 
specific  purpose.  Frequent  reports  should  also  be  made 
to  the  school  showing  how  their  money  has  helped  oth- 
ers. In  short,  it  ought  to  be  stated  very  fully  and  very 
frequently,  how  much  money  is  needed,  where  it  is  to  go, 
and  what  it  will  accomplish.  Without  this  information 
furnished  by  the  superintendent,  and  this  interest  on 
the  part  of  the  members,  there  can  be  no  intelligent 
giving. 

Giving  Should  be  General.  That  is  to  say,  everybody 
ought  to  give.  Too  much  stress  cannot  be  laid  in  the 
right  way,  upon  the  fact  that  no  Sunday-school  session  is 
complete  to  any  member  unless  he  has  made  a  contribu- 
tion on  that  day.  We  are  not  to  determine  the  amount 
given  by  the  individual ;  but  we  ought  to  insist  that  every 
member  gives  some  amount  every  Sunday.  It  is  remark- 
able how  much  can  be  done  in  this  direction  when  a  lit- 
tle attention  is  paid  to  it.  In  our  school  wc  report  every 
Sunday  not  only  the  number  of  givers  but  the  number 
of  emitters,  and  yet  we  do  not  know  how  much  any  par- 
ticular member  gives.  Perhaps  it  will  not  be  out  of  place 
to  call  attention  to  the  accompanying  reproduction  of  an 
ordinary  report,  just  as  it  is  given  every  Sunday  in  our 
school.  The  one  given  herewith  is  correct  in  every  de- 
tail as  to  amount,  etc.,  for  the  Sunday  mentioned. 


The  Sunday  School  Giving 


137 


WEEKLY   REPORT 


Sunday  School  Treasurer 
Washington   Street  Congregational   Church 


Toledc 

►,  Ohio, 

January  29,  1905. 

Balance  from 

last  report  $23.16 

Department 

Givers 

emitters 

Amount 

Officers  and  AssVs 

J^ 

$3.29 

Senior 

SJf 

2.82 

Wormal 

13 

.55 

Young  Men 

62 

4 

4.17 

Young  Women 
Intermediate 

13^ 
121,. 

1 

7.21, 
2.8S 

Junior 

U6 

3 

3.1,8 

Primary 

153 

1 

3.36 

Beginners 

8J, 

.83 

Totals  to-day, 

742 

9 

$28.62 

Received  from  other 

sources, 

3.00 

$54.78 

Paid  out  since  last  report, 
Balance  on  hand, 

18.30 

$36.48 

F.  G.  Ceandell, 

Treasurer. 


138        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

It  will  be  noticed  that  there  were  seven  hundred  and 
forty-two  givers  and  nine  omitters.  The  report  also 
shows  to  what  department  those  omitters  belonged ; 
but  we  do  not  know  who  they  are  when  the  report  is 
read  by  the  treasurer.  However,  everybody  knows  that 
there  are  omitters  and  every  omitter  knows  that  he  is 
referred  to.  It  is  a  very  rare  thing  in  our  school  to  have 
more  than  twelve  omitters  on  any  Sunday,  and  the  num- 
ber oiten  falls  considerably  below  that.  Sometimes  there 
is  not  a  single  omitter  in  the  school, — that  is  to  say,  every 
member  present  makes  a  contribution. 

Giving  Should  be  Generous.  Liberality  in  giving  is 
wholly  a  relative  term.  For  one  scholar  to  give  five 
cents  would  be  liberality  on  his  part ;  for  his  next  neigh- 
bour in  the  same  class  to  give  the  same  amount  might  be 
quite  the  reverse.  The  "  penny  "  has  been  greatly  over- 
worked in  the  Sunday-school.  We  can  all  say  truth- 
fully with  Paul, "  Alexander  the  coppersmith  did  me  much 
evil."  Never  was  a  truer  thing  said  than  that  by  Eugene 
Wood  in  a  capital  article  in  McCliirc  s  Llagaziiie  for 
November,  1903,  "  Train  up  a  child  to  give  a  penny  and 
when  he  is  old  he  will  not  depart  from  it."  It  is  a 
serious  belittlement  of  the  Sunday-school  idea  to  talk 
about  pennies  to  boys  and  girls  and  young  people  who 
have  nickels  and  dimes  and  dollars,  too,  to  spend  for 
chewing-gum  and  candy,  and  who  spend  them. 

We  need  a  higher  rating  for  the  Sunday-school.  We 
shall  get  it  when  we  insist  on  each  individual,  no  matter 
of  what  age,  giving  as  generously  as  he  can.  We  must 
remember,  however,  that  there  are  those  who  are  giving 
liberally  when  they  give  a  penny,  and  there  may  be  cases 
when   the  giving  of  anything  on  a  particular  Sunday 


The  Sunday  School  Giving  139 

would  be  a  hardship ; — such  cases  are  rare  however. 
The  frequent  reporting  by  the  treasurer  of  the  amount 
given  by  each  department  and  by  the  whole  school, 
enumerating  the  number  of  givers  and  emitters  in  each 
department  has  raised  the  offering  very  materially.  With 
us  it  has  added  fully  fifty  per  cent.,  and  the  development 
still  continues. 

The  Money  Given  Should  be  Properly  Used.  It  is 
quite  the  fad  nowadays  among  Sunday-school  workers, 
to  claim  that  the  church,  out  of  its  treasury  should  pay 
all  the  expenses  of  the  Sunday-school,  and  that  all  the 
money  raised  in  the  Sunday-school  should  be  used 
exclusively  for  missionary  purposes.  We  are  sorry  to 
part  company  with  the  goodly  host  which  so  strenuously 
holds  to  these  views ;  nevertheless  we  must  do  so.  The 
Sunday-school  is  admittedly  under  the  care  and  super- 
vision of  the  church.  The  church  is  without  doubt 
entirely  responsible  for  all  of  the  expenses  of  the  school, 
and  must  see  that  the  school  is  amply  supported  in  every 
way.  Granting  this,  however,  the  scholars  need  to  be 
taught  something  in  addition  to  the  duties  of  giving  to 
beneficences.  They  have  a  duty  to  the  church  itself  and 
likewise  to  the  school.  A  certain  proportion  of  the 
offering  in  the  school  every  Sunday  should  go  directly  to 
the  church  treasury  so  that  every  scholar  in  the  school 
may  know  that  a  portion  of  his  gift,  however  large  or 
small,  helps  to  support  his  pastor.  This  is  but  right,  for 
the  pastor  of  the  church  is  pastor  of  the  school. 

Then  a  certain  portion  of  the  Sunday-school  offerings 
should  be  used  for  the  support  of  the  school  itself.  A 
large  proportion  of  the  money  raised  in  the  school  should 
be  dedicated  to  missionary  and  benevolent  objects,  not 


140       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

forgetting  the  denominational  boards.  If  these  three 
channels  of  expenditure,  benevolence,  church  support, 
and  school  support,  are  kept  in  right  proportions  and 
relations  to  each  other  (and  they  will  vary  in  different 
localities),  we  believe  the  general  educational  effect  will 
be  much  better  upon  the  scholars  than  if  all  their  money 
went  into  missionary  enterprises. 

The  Giving  Should  be  Dignified.  By  this  we  mean 
that  the  giving  should  have  a  prominent  and  significant 
place  in  the  regular  exercises  of  the  Sunday-school.  The 
mere  act  of  gathering  the  money  from  the  scholars  can 
be  done  better  by  the  teachers  than  in  any  other  way, 
and  this  probably  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  recitation 
period,  but  it  should  not  be  passed  over  in  silence.  In 
the  general  exercises  of  the  school  the  money  from  all 
the  classes  is  put  in  a  plate  or  basket,  and,  at  a  con- 
venient time  held  up  by  the  superintendent,  and  the 
attention  of  the  school  called  to  it.  He  may  quote  some 
verses  of  Scripture,  or  simply  refer  to  the  fact  that  the 
money  given  belongs  to  the  Lord  and  that  the  Lord's 
blessing  is  to  be  asked  upon  it.  Then  follows  a  short 
earnest  prayer  that  God  will  bless  the  gift  that  has  been 
made  in  His  name,  that  those  who  gave  it  may  get  a 
blessing  in  their  giving,  and  that  the  omitters  of  to-day 
may  be  givers  next  Sunday. 

In  some  schools  the  offering  is  taken  in  the  same 
manner  as  in  the  church  service,  by  passing  the  plate. 
Sometimes  this  is  done  while  a  song  is  being  sung. 
Surely  this  is  wholly  out  of  place,  for  is  it  not  better  to 
worship  God  in  one  way  at  a  time,  so  that  the  whole 
heart  may  go  with  the  service  ?  Always  dignify  the 
giving  by  calling  it  an   offering,  never  a  "  collection." 


The  Sunday  School  Giving  141 

It  is  an  offering  unto  the  Lord,  to  be  used  in  His  work. 
Let  it  be  so  called.  Every  offering  should  be  accom- 
panied with  a  prayer  for  God's  blessing  upon  it.  Culti- 
vate the  joyful  spirit  in  giving.  The  teaching  of  Christ 
that  "  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive,"  should 
have  due  prominence. 

If  the  suggestions  of  this  chapter  are  carried  out  in  any 
Sunday-school,  there  will  be  little  difficulty  in  materially 
increasing  the  amount  given  and  the  number  of  givers, 
while  giving  will  be  recognized,  as  it  should  be,  as  a  vital 
feature  of  the  service,  pleasing  to  God  and  very  profitable 
to  those  who  engage  in  it. 


XIV 
SPECIAL  OCCASIONS 

There  is  distinct  gain  to  any  Sunday-school  in  the 
celebration  of  the  various  festivals  of  the  church  and  in 
the  observance  of  other  special  occasions.  These  afford 
opportunities  for  the  whole  school,  together  with  the 
members  of  the  church  and  the  parents  and  friends,  to 
come  together.  We  fear  sometimes,  however,  that  there 
is  a  tendency  to  have  too  many  of  these  special  occa- 
sions. Though  a  number  of  them  are  named  in  this 
chapter,  it  would  not  be  wise  for  any  school  to  observe 
all  of  them  in  any  one  year.  In  this  list  is  given  first, 
those  observed  in  our  school,  in  the  order  they  come  in 
the  calendar  year. 

New  Year's  Reception.  New  Year's  Day  is  a  holiday, 
and  as  such  is  often  abused.  Some  years  ago  we  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  endeavouring  to  utilize  the  day  to  the 
advantage  of  our  work,  and  it  has  come  to  be  one  of  the 
most  profitable  of  our  annual  exercises.  The  advantages 
which  arise  from  it  are  distinctively  those  of  sociability, 
fellowship  and  publicity.  Our  method  of  observing  it  is 
as  follows  :  — 

The  whole  church  is  opened,  decorated  and  warmed. 
The  chairs  are  taken  from  the  centre  of  the  lecture  room 
so  that  there  is  plenty  of  open  space  for  moving  about. 
The  exercises  begin  at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  de- 
voting one  hour  to  each  of  the  younger  departments. 
From  two  to  three  the  cradle  roll  members,  the  begin- 

142 


Special  Occasions  143 

ners  and  the  primaries  have  their  exercises.  The  officers 
of  these  various  departments  are  in  charge  and  arrange 
whatever  program  they  wish.  No  romping  is  allowed  in 
the  church,  though  otherwise  they  have  the  utmost 
freedom.  We  sometimes  have  a  parade  up  and  down 
the  aisles  of  the  church  with  the  little  ones  of  the  cradle 
roll  leading  off  in  their  carriages.  There  is  sometimes 
singing  and  speaking,  and  always  refreshments.  Usually 
a  large  music  box  makes  continual  music.  When  all 
have  arrived,  the  officers  of  the  departments  stand  in  line 
and  receive  the  congratulations  of  the  teachers  and 
scholars,  who  pass  by  them,  stopping  and  shaking  hands, 
and  wishing  them  a  Happy  New  Year.  It  affords  a  fine 
opportunity  for  the  pastor  and  superintendent  and  workers 
generally  to  meet  these  children  at  short  range  and  get 
acquainted  with  them.  When  the  hour  is  up  each 
scholar  present  is  given  a  "  Scattergood  "  calendar,  and 
with  many  a  "  Happy  New  Year  "  the  delighted  children 
start  off  to  their  homes.  Many  of  the  parents  come  with 
the  children  and  thus  a  choice  opportunity  is  afforded  to 
get  acquainted  with  them  also. 

From  three  to  four  the  junior  department,  in  charge 
of  their  officers,  has  entire  control  of  the  program.  The 
music  is  frequently  furnished  by  the  juniors  themselves, 
who  sing,  play  the  piano,  the  mandolin  and  other  instru- 
ments. The  children  have  perfect  liberty  to  do  as  they 
please,  provided  their  plans  are  approved  by  their  offi- 
cers. When  their  time  is  up  they  are  presented  with 
Scattergood  calendars.  Indeed  everybody  present  that 
day  receives  one  of  these  calendars. 

From  four  to  five  the  intermediates  have  their  recep- 
tion.    The  same  general  rules  hold  here  as  in  the  other 


144       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

departments  ;  the  scholars  being  older,  however,  ranging 
from  thirteen  to  sixteen,  the  character  of  the  entertain- 
ment is  different.  All  are  served  with  light  refreshments. 
At  five  o'clock  the  church  is  closed. 

At  seven  o'clock  the  church  is  again  opened  and  all 
the  older  departments  of  the  school,  including  the  home 
department,  and  the  members  of  the  church  and  congre- 
gation, together  with  the  friends  and  others,  gather  for 
an  evening  of  pleasure  and  profit.  There  is  perhaps  a 
little  more  of  a  set  program  for  the  meeting,  though  its 
thoroughly  informal  character  is  maintained.  Light  re- 
freshments are  served  just  as  in  the  afternoon.  There  is 
more  music,  some  recitations,  and  occasionally  some 
special  features.  This  meeting  affords  the  pastor  and 
superintendent  a  fine  opportunity  to  speak  a  few  words 
to  those  gathered.  The  house  being  well  filled  it  is  an 
opportunity  not  to  be  despised.  In  all  that  is  done  that 
day  no  formality  or  stiffness  is  allowed.  It  may  well  be 
imagined  that  a  day  thus  spent  with  the  pastor,  superin- 
tendent and  other  officers  present  all  the  afternoon  and 
evening  affords  an  opportunity  for  much  good  and  at  the 
same  time  centres  about  the  house  of  God  the  beautiful 
thoughts  of  the  opening  yean  We  would  not  give  up 
our  New  Year's  reception. 

Easter.  Easter  is  in  many  respects  the  most  joyous 
festival  of  the  year.  It  comes  just  as  the  severity  of 
winter  is  giving  way  to  the  smiles  of  approaching  spring. 
The  flowers  are  beginning  to  appear.  Many  of  the  little 
children  who  have  been  housed  in  during  the  severe 
winter  months  will  gladly  engage  in  the  Easter  festivities. 
The  thought  it  celebrates  is  one  of  the  most  inspiring  of 
all  that  come  to  the  Christian  heart.     The  best  Easter 


Special  Occasions  145 

celebration  is  the  one  which  celebrates  Easter.  Any  sort 
of  exercise  which  fails  to  magnify  and  emphasize  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  is  a  travesty  upon  the  day 
and  a  detriment  to  the  school.  Let  the  room  be  beauti- 
fully decorated.  This  is  easier  perhaps  at  this  time  of 
the  year  than  at  any  other.  In  the  country  especially 
the  fresh  boughs  of  green  leaves  and  the  early  flowers 
are  available.  A  cross  covered  with  flowers  is  appro- 
priate. The  ordinary  crepe  paper  which  comes  in  rolls 
may  be  cut  in  strips  two  inches  wide  and  the  ends  pasted 
together.  These  hung  in  fanciful  designs  about  the  room 
are  very  beautiful  indeed.  Some  of  the  supply  houses 
also  prepare  handsome  set  designs  which  are  beautiful 
and  inexpensive.  The  bright  clothing  of  the  children 
will  in  itself  be  a  beautiful  decoration,  surpassed  only  by 
their  faces. 

We  recommend  the  Easter  concert.  In  some  schools 
the  best  time  to  have  this  concert  is  at  the  regular  school 
hour.  We  prefer,  however,  to  have  an  evening  when  the 
church  gives  the  Sunday-school  the  right  of  way  and  the 
parents  and  friends  can  more  conveniently  attend  and 
enjoy  the  services  with  the  children.  The  success  of 
such  an  exercise  depends  largely  upon  the  time  and 
pains  taken  in  its  preparation.  It  is  better  to  have 
simple  music  well  sung  than  to  attempt  new  music  with- 
out sufficient  practice.  There  are  many  beautiful  exer- 
cises prepared  every  year  and  at  prices  within  the  reach 
of  all. 

Some  schools  greatly  enjoy  what  is  known  as  "  A  Seed 
Sowing  Service."  There  are  various  ways  of  conducting 
it.  We  did  as  follows  : — About  two  hundred  flower-pots 
filled  with  rich  earth  were  placed  on  tables  in  the  front 


146        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

of  the  room.  At  a  given  time  in  the  exercises  some  of 
the  teachers  sowed  pansy  seeds  in  these  pots.  The 
pots  were  then  given  to  such  scholars  of  the  school  as 
desired  to  take  them  that  they  might  try  their  skill  in 
raising  pansies.  Their  work  was  recognized  by  the 
presentation,  later  in  the  season,  of  beautiful  pictures  to 
those  who  produced  choice,  blooming  pansies.  The  ex- 
ercises of  the  seed  sowing  day  were  all  centred  around 
that  thought.  Such  songs  as  "  Sowing  in  the  Morning," 
"  Scatter  the  Seed,"  "  What  Shall  the  Harvest  Be,"  were 
used.  This  exercise  is  not  very  expensive  as  the 
flower-pots  and  seeds  are  very  cheap.  Easter  is  a 
good  time  to  make  an  offering  for  some  phase  of  mission- 
ary work. 

Children's  Day.  In  some  respects  this  is  the  hap- 
piest day  of  the  year  to  Sunday-school  scholars.  In  our 
climate  it  usually  comes  the  second  Sunday  in  June ;  the 
date,  however,  varies  to  suit  the  coming  of  the  flowers. 
There  are  many  ways  of  celebrating  the  day  and  the  in- 
genuity of  the  most  resourceful  will  have  ample  field  for 
operations  here.  Of  course  the  room  should  be  decorated 
with  flowers,  pictures,  birds  and  in  any  other  appropriate 
way.  The  whole  day  should  be  given  up  to  the  children. 
The  regular  session  of  the  Sunday-school  could  at  least 
have  appropriate  opening  exercises.  The  scholars  should 
be  assembled  in  the  preaching  service  and  hear  a  special 
sermon  from  the  pastor,  and  that  day  they  could  sing  some 
of  their  own  songs  instead  of  the  church  hymns.  I 
would  have  a  children's  day  exercise  at  night,  if  pos- 
sible, and  make  it  as  elaborate  and  complete  as  possible. 
The  offering  made  on  this  day,  and  there  certainly  should 
be  an  offering,  is  generally  used  for  Sunday-school  work 


Special  Occasions  147 

and  we  recommend  that  it  be  devoted  to  the  Sunday- 
school  work  of  the  denomination. 

Rally  Day.  This  festival  is  rapidly  growing  in  favour. 
It  usually  comes  at  the  end  of  the  summer  break-up,  and 
is  used  as  a  means  of  rallying  the  forces  again  for  the  work 
of  the  fall  and  winter.  When  a  general  is  preparing  for  a 
battle  he  is  said  to  rally  his  forces.  When  a  sick  person 
begins  to  recover  it  is  said  of  him  that  he  is  rallying. 
When  a  bookbinder  brings  together  in  one  place  the 
different  sections  of  a  book  to  be  bound  into  one  he  is 
said  to  be  rallying  the  book.  All  of  these  phases  may 
be  applied  to  the  Sunday-school  work  ;  we  are  rallying 
our  forces  for  the  great  campaign  of  the  fall  and  winter. 
The  Sunday-school  has  not  been  up  to  its  full  strength 
and  vigour  in  the  summer  and  is  now  girding  on  its 
power.  And,  like  gathering  the  sections  of  a  book,  the 
rallying  process  binds  it  into  a  unit  so  that  it  is  usable. 

The  time  of  the  year  makes  it  possible  to  have  very 
beautiful  decorations  and  in  large  variety.  As  it  is  sort 
of  a  harvest  home  gathering  the  decorations  may  be  ap- 
propriate to  that  thought.  Our  building  was  certainly 
never  more  beautifully  decorated  than  when  we  used  corn 
stalks  with  the  full  ears  of  corn  still  upon  them.  A  shock 
of  wheat  upon  the  platform  is  very  appropriate.  Ears  of 
corn  tied  up  by  the  husks  are  also  beautiful.  Fruits  and 
fall  flowers  are  always  in  abundance  and  make  fitting 
decorations. 

Our  rally  day  occurs  on  the  last  Sunday  of  September 
and  the  Sunday-school  hour  is  devoted  largely  to  it.  The 
music  is  specially  selected  and  is  of  a  strong,  vigorous 
character.  Sometimes  a  speaker  is  brought  in  from  out- 
side to  make  a  short  address.     We  always  have,  however, 


148   How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

on  that  day  our  "  grand  review."  When  everything  is  in 
readiness  the  orchestra  begins  to  play  a  processional. 
Everybody  in  the  school  and  all  who  are  in  the  building 
march  in  order  by  the  platform,  depositing  their  offering 
envelopes  as  they  pass.  First  come  the  little  ones  of  the 
cradle  roll,  carried  or  led  by  their  parents,  then  the  be- 
ginners, followed  by  the  primaries  and  the  other  depart- 
ments of  the  school  in  the  order  of  their  age,  the  senior 
department,  home  department  and  visitors  coming  last. 
This  procession  is  continuous  until  everybody  in  the 
house  has  passed  the  platform  and  made  his  offering.  It 
is  a  very  beautiful  sight.  Various  devices  are  used  to  re- 
ceive the  offerings  upon  the  platform.  One  year  the 
bank,  so-called,  was  a  very  large  real  pumpkin ;  another 
year  a  plaster  of  Paris  egg,  about  two  feet  long,  laid  in  a 
nest  of  straw.  Again  we  used  a  small  barrel;  this  year 
there  was  upon  the  platform  a  beautiful  cross  decorated 
with  flowers  and  at  the  foot  of  it  a  box  into  which  the 
envelopes  were  dropped.  Thus  they  deposited  their  of- 
ferings at  the  foot  of  the  cross.  The  money  given  is  always 
used  for  Sunday-school  work  and  generally  for  the  inter- 
national, interdenominational  work. 

Rally  day  is  always  the  largest  day  of  the  year  in  the 
matter  of  attendance.  When  the  school  is  all  gathered  it 
would  be  a  great  mistake  for  the  pastor  and  superintend- 
ent to  lose  the  opportunity  of  impressing  upon  them  the 
importance  of  the  work  in  which  all  are  engaged,  and  of 
laying  before  them  the  plans  for  the  fall  and  winter  cam- 
paign. It  also  affords  the  opportunity  to  solicit  a  larger 
interest  on  the  part  of  those  parents  and  friends  who  are 
present  who  usually  take  no  active  interest  beyond  send- 
ing their  children. 


Special  Occasions  149 

Rally  day  should  be  well  advertised.  A  beautiful, 
well  printed  invitation  should  be  sent  to  all  who  are  not 
present  on  the  Sunday  before  rally  day,  to  all  members 
of  the  church,  to  parents  of  the  children,  and  to  as  many 
former  members  of  the  school  as  can  be  reached.  It  is 
really  a  reunion  and  is  one  of  the  happiest  days  of  the 
year. 

Promotion  Day.  Every  graded  Sunday-school  must 
have  a  regular  promotion  day.  With  us  it  is  the  last 
Sunday  of  our  school  year,  and  this  happens  to  fall  upon 
rally  day.  We  think  this  very  fortunate  for  it  gives  us 
an  opportunity  to  engage  in  the  promotion  day  services 
in  the  presence  of  many  visitors  and  the  parents  of  the 
children,  and  they  thus  become  very  much  interested  in 
our  work.  Three  years  are  spent  by  the  pupils  in  each 
of  the  departments  in  which  promotion  takes  place.  On 
promotion  day  we  make  it  a  point  to  change  the  seat  of 
everybody  who  is  promoted,  so  that  they  may  all  fare 
ahke.  The  third  year  of  the  intermediate  department 
graduates  into  the  young  men's  department  or  the  young 
women's  department,  as  the  case  may  be.  After  an  ex- 
planation of  the  significance  of  promotion  these  third- 
year  members  of  the  intermediate  department  change 
their  seats ;  then  the  second-year  members  of  the  inter- 
mediate department  move  to  the  seats  vacated  by  the 
third-year  scholars  ;  the  first-year  intermediates  then 
move  to  the  seats  vacated  by  the  second-year  inter- 
mediates ;  the  third-year  juniors  then  move  to  the  seats 
vacated  by  the  first-year  intermediates,  and  so  on  down 
the  list.  This  is  done  with  military  precision,  without 
any  commotion  whatever.  It  is  really  a  very  beautiful 
sight. 


150       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

The  conditions  of  promotion  need  a  Httle  explanation. 
Our  school  is  graded  chiefly  upon  the  age  basis,  excep- 
tions being  made,  as  indicated  elsewhere,  in  the  case  of 
scholars  who  are  advanced  beyond  their  age  in  the  public 
school.  In  these  departments  there  is  a  certain  amount 
of  supplemental  or  fundamental  work  required.  Those 
who  comply  with  the  conditions  and  do  this  work  receive 
beautiful  certificates  of  promotion  and  are  given  honour- 
able mention  on  promotion  day.  Those  who  do  not 
comply  are  not  held  back  but  are  allowed  to  go  on  with 
their  class  ;  however,  they  receive  no  public  mention  and 
no  certificates.  This  is  one  of  the  strongest  incentives 
of  which  I  know  to  secure  this  supplemental  or  funda- 
mental work.  The  promotion  exercises  are  held  at  the 
opening  of  the  service  on  rally  day  and  usually  take 
about  twenty  minutes. 

Installation  Day.  This  is  an  exercise  designed  to 
dignify  the  work  of  the  officers  and  teachers.  See 
chapter  on  installation  of  officers  and  teachers. 

The  Anniversary.  This  is  the  great  feast  of  the  year. 
It  is  held  on  the  last  Sunday  of  October  and  is  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  public  recognition  to  those  who  have 
earned  the  honours  of  the  school  during  the  year  preced- 
ing and  ending  with  the  first  of  October.  The  month 
intervening  furnishes  opportunity  for  completing  the 
records  and  preparing  for  the  public  gathering.  It 
is  always  held  in  the  auditorium  of  the  church,  and 
Sunday  evening  is  devoted  to  the  service.  The  school 
is  seated  in  a  body  by  departments,  the  visitors  and 
parents  occupying  the  gallery.  Special  music  is  rendered 
by  the  orchestra  and  the  school,  and  also  by  the  children 
of  the  elementary  departments.     The  room,  appropriately 


Special  Occasions  151 

decorated,  is  generally  packed  to  the  doors  by  those  anx- 
ious to  witness  these  anniversary  services.  It  is  the  most 
popular  gathering  of  the  year. 

The  names  of  those  who  have  earned  the  honours  for 
the  year  are  printed  in  our  church  paper,  The  Helper. 
These  names  are  printed  in  such  a  way  as  to  indicate 
which  members  receive  the  first-year  honours,  which  the 
second,  which  the  third,  and  so  on.  The  honours  are 
presented  by  the  pastor  and  superintendent  and  such 
others  as  may  be  necessary.  Each  first-year  honour 
member  receives  the  Robert  Raikes  diploma  referred  to 
in  the  chapter  on  honours  and  rewards.  As  the  names 
are  called,  each  first-year  honour  member  comes  forward 
and  passes  through  a  large  white  arch  which  stands  upon 
the  platform.  He  receives  also  at  the  same  time  a  white 
pin  bearing  the  name  and  emblem  of  the  school. 

Those  who  are  entitled  to  the  second  year  of  perfect 
record  then  follow  passing  through  a  red  arch  which  now 
stands  upon  the  platform,  the  white  one  having  been  re- 
moved. Each  member  receives  a  red  seal  to  be  fastened 
to  the  diploma  and  another  school  pin  similar  to  the  first 
one  except  that  its  colour  is  red.  The  third-year  mem- 
bers pass  through  a  blue  arch,  receiving  a  blue  seal  and 
a  blue  pin. 

The  members  for  the  fourth,  fifth,  sixth  and  seventh 
years  pass  through  arches  which  are  respectively  green, 
violet,  silver  and  gold,  receiving  seals  and  pins  of  the  same 
colour.  The  pin  given  for  the  seventh  year,  however,  is 
solid  gold,  costing  one  dollar.  It  is  highly  prized  by 
those  who  have  earned  it,  for  it  stands  for  seven  years  of 
faithful  service.  About  two  hundred  and  fifty  members 
of  our  school  are  now  wearing  these  gold  pins.     All  who 


152        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

have  earned  this  honour  belong  to  the  •'  Alumni."  Many 
of  them  keep  right  on  earning  the  honours  year  after 
year. 

As  the  seventh  year  completed  the  Robert  Raikes  di- 
ploma we  found  it  necessary  to  adopt  some  other  means  to 
maintain  the  interest  for  the  years  following,  consequently 
for  the  eighth  year  of  perfect  record  we  have  adopted 
the  Robert  Raikes  Alumni  diploma  described  in  our 
chapter  on  honours  and  rewards.  Seals  for  the  honours 
of  succeeding  years  are  attached  to  this  diploma  as  in- 
dicated elsewhere.  No  pins  are  given  after  the  gold 
pin  is  received.  The  honours  above  the  seventh  year 
are  called  alumni  honours.  Those  who  receive  alumni 
honours  pass  through  the  gold  arch,  the  figures  repre- 
senting the  year  being  changed  at  the  top  of  the  arch  as 
the  members  for  each  year  pass  through. 

This  may  seem  like  a  very  simple  service,  and  yet  it 
stands  for  a  great  deal.  The  interest  in  our  anniversaries 
has  had  much  to  do  with  maintaining  the  evenness  of  our 
attendance  throughout  the  year.  We  are  aware  that 
some  will  object  to  the  method  because  of  the  expense. 
We  admit  that  it  is  expensive  but  it  pays.  It  ought  to 
be  said  right  here,  however,  that  there  are  two  sides  to 
this  question  of  expense.  If  a  scholar  has  earned  the 
honours  of  the  school  for  seven  years,  his  offering  to  the 
school  will  many  times  over  pay  all  this  expense,  though 
of  course  that  is  not  the  purpose  of  gathering  the  offer- 
ing. Money  paid  out  for  the  anniversary  service,  con- 
sidered from  a  purely  financial  standpoint  is  a  good  invest- 
ment. Yet  this  aspect  of  the  consideration  does  not 
govern  us  in  the  slightest  degree;  we  are  after  XSxq  fiock 
and  not  th^Jieece. 


Special  Occasions  153 

The  music  at  our  anniversary  is  always  a  special  fea- 
ture. Not  infrequently  we  use  an  anniversary  hymn  that 
was  specially  written  for  us.  We  reproduce  the  last  one 
on  the  following  page  because  it  is  particularly  appropriate. 
It  is  written  by  my  friend  Rev.  Carey  Bonner,  General 
Secretary  of  the  Sunday  School  Union  of  London,  Eng- 
land. 

Christmas.  No  festival  of  the  church  or  Sunday- 
school  is  so  universally  and  elaborately  celebrated  as 
Christmas,  and  none  so  greatly  abused.  The  harm  that 
has  been  done  in  the  name  of  Christmas  is  appalling; 
but  we  are  learning  better  things.  It  would  be  difficult 
to  find  a  Sunday-school  that  did  not  in  some  way  observe 
the  beautiful  celebration  of  the  birthday  of  the  Christ- 
child.  It  is  the  winter  festival.  The  same  thing  may 
be  said  of  Christmas  that  was  said  of  Easter ;  the  best 
way  to  celebrate  it  is  to  emphasize  the  truth  for  which  it 
stands.  The  church  and  Sunday-school  have  been  slow 
to  learn  that  it  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive, 
and  yet  giving  is  the  very  spirit  of  Christmas.  Santa 
Claus,  Kris  Kringle  and  the  big  fireplace  are  very  pleasing 
to  the  little  children ;  but  there  is  a  more  excellent  way 
and  we  are  glad  that  the  Sunday-school  world  is  begin- 
ning to  recognize  it.  Christmas  trees  are  very  beautiful 
indeed  and  for  decorations  nothing  can  be  finer,  but  a 
Christmas  exercise  which  consists  only  of  a  Christmas 
tree  bearing  gifts  for  the  children,  no  matter  how  simple 
or  expensive,  is  an  opportunity  lost. 

There  are  many  beautiful  and  effective  Christmas  ex- 
ercises already  prepared  and  being  prepared  fresh  every 
year;  but  I  would  not  recommend  the  use  of  any  of 
them  at  the  regular  Sunday-school  hour.     At  this  hour, 


154       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 


Father,  Hear  Thy  Children's  Voices. 

AnniTersary  song  iuacribed  to  my  friend,  Mr.  Marion  Lawranco  and  the  'Washington 
Street  Congregation  Sunday-School,  Toledo,  Ohio. 

Words  and  Music  by  Carky  Bownkr. 
Introduction  to  each  verse.  _r*n 

^   m   ^ 


1.  Fa  -   ther,  hear  Thy     chil  -  dren's  vole  -   es  Glad  and 

2.  Grace  di  -  vine  hath  strength  pro  -  vid    -   ed  Day  by 

3.  For     the  hal  -  lowed,  sweet  com-mun-  ion  With  our 

4.  For     our  com  -  rades  loy    -    al  -  heart  -    ed.  Far  a 

5.  All      the  way    that     lies        be  -  fore       us  Thou  dost 


=4=?- 


I-=S: 


1 


E^£^^ 


^^ 


glow  -  ing     heart       re    -   joic  -  es 

wan  -  'dring     feet     hath     guid  -   ed 

earth  -  ly      bonds      of        un   -   Ion, 

tered      now,     and     from        us      part  -   ed, 

Thy      ban  -   ner      float   -   ing       o'er      us 


=g^-=g=g=--=e=,=j 


^ 


4^ 

=>- 

> 



cres. 

1 \ 1- 

-|v- 

1— 

p| — " 



N 

Thine 

All 
Praise 

Lord, 
Forth 

1 

5: 

to 
the 
we 
we 
we 

J 

=1 

^' 
be; 
way ; 
bring 
pray, 
go. 

Whilst 
What 
For 
Some 
March 

I — 3 

«- 

on 

we 

the 

have 

-    ing 

this 
knew 
friend 
en    - 
on    - 

i 

ou 

no 

-  Bhi 

tere 

war 

M 

r 

t, 

^d 
d 

^=^ 

•'  • 

0^ 

z^=-A 

fe- 

m 

:— iS       1 

— t£iH 

1 f. — 

=r 

:L^_ 

*»— 

1^ 

¥ 

i::::^ 

Copyright,  1904,  by  Marion  Lawrance. 


Special  Occasions 


155 


Father,  Hear  Thy  Children's  Voices. 


day       of     days—  In 

Thou    hast  taught;  All 

old       and  new,  For 

in    -     to      rest,  Tho' 


in     -    to    liglit,     Strengthened    ev 

J-       .       -.  r^ 


a      sac   -    ri    -    flco       of    praise — 
our    tri  -  umplis,  Thou  hast  wrought ; 
the    Joys      of      serv  -     ice    true, 
we    miss  them —  they     are    hlest, 
r  by      Thy  might, 


^ 


-J-^- 


ii^ 


s^^ 


=a=^ 


I 


3^ 


■— 1= — ■^- 


«*= 


f^ 


Loud    and  clear    our  song     we  raise        Un    -     to        Thee, 

Full      re-demp-tion  Thou    hast  brought;  Thanlis  we     pay. 

For      the  work      we  yet      may  do,  Now     we        sing. 

Close  -  ly   fold  '-   ed  to        Thy  breast,  " 

In       Thy  name    to  win      the  flgbt, 


?=.^. 


Safe      are        they. 
O'er     each        foe. 


d= 


?^ 


U-' 


Hal 

-  le 

-    lu 

- 

- 

jahr 

Hal 

-  le    -    lu 

- 

- 

"^-f^ 

—^~ 

1 

— 

— 1 — 

-^^ 

-s^  -J^- 

f-r- 

^ 

-h*- 

> 

-i- 

li_ 

=*^ 

-^-k- 

=^ 

-r=J 

Hal  - 

le  - 

lu    - 

Jah! 

Hal 

-  le  - 

lu  - 

w^—t — 

i 

=^ 

-«.• 

,.     .. 

■r 

~=r — t — 

■|t_ 

=£H 

"*  r 

— h^- 

— 1- — 

1 

— H— - 

— 6» 

=^ 

jah!  Hal 

fff    T"** 


lu 


jah! 


Organ. 


i=e 


-ca  • 


jah! 


Hal 


le    -     lu 


jah! 


156   How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

it  seems  to  me,  there  should  be  the  Christmas  lesson, 
giving  the  full  time  to  it.  I  would  change  the  order  of 
services  for  the  day  only  sufficiently  to  permit  the  intro- 
duction of  special  Christmas  music  and  a  few  other  fea- 
tures ;  but  don't  neglect  the  Bible  lesson  on  the  birth  of 
Christ.  The  world  needs  to  be  brought  back  to  the 
simple  Christmas  message.  The  best  service  you  can 
possibly  render  the  scholars  of  the  school  is  to  impress 
the  lesson  of  Christmas  day  so  deeply  in  their  minds  and 
hearts  that  they  will  never  forget  it.  The  giving  of  gifts, 
especially  gifts  of  any  value,  to  the  scholars  of  the  school 
at  Christmas  time — except  perhaps  in  some  mission 
schools — works  far  more  harm  than  good.  Giving  is  the 
essence  of  the  Christmas  lesson  and  we  should  not  rob 
our  scholars  by  failing  to  give  them  an  opportunity  to  give. 

The  giving  Christmas  is  the  thing  we  have  tried  year 
after  year  for  a  long  time  and  would  not  give  up  now  for 
any  consideration.  The  giving  service  with  us  is  held  at 
night.  It  is  generally  combined  with  a  short  Christmas 
exercise  consisting  of  appropriate  music,  recitations, 
Scripture  reading  and  remarks.  In  the  giving  service 
there  is  the  largest  liberty  afforded  to  all  of  the  members 
of  the  school. 

Perhaps  I  can  do  no  better  than  to  give  a  brief  account 
of  our  last  "Giving  Christmas"  (1904).  The  weather 
was  very  cold  and  stormy,  the  sidewalks  very  slippery 
and  unsafe,  but  the  house  was  packed  to  the  doors  as 
is  usually  the  case  at  our  "  Christmas  Giving  Exercise." 

The  school  was  seated  by  departments,  the  primaries 
marching  in  during  a  processional  by  the  orchestra. 
First  came  instrumental  and  vocal  music,  then  prayer  and 
Scripture.     The  little    children  delighted  us  with  some 


Special  Occasions  157 

special  exercises  in  the  way  of  singing  and  recitations. 
The  giving  exercise  came  last.  The  platform  was  cleared 
of  the  chairs  and  pulpit  furniture,  and  filled  with  tables. 
The  "  Scroobys,"  an  organized  class  of  young  men  led 
the  procession  headed  by  the  pastor  and  superintendent, 
both  honourary  members  of  the  class.  Each  young  man 
staggered  down  the  aisle  with  a  two  bushel  sack  of 
potatoes ;  sometimes  the  sacks  were  carried  by  two. 
Twenty-six  bushels  of  potatoes  were  thus  piled  up  at  the 
sides  of  the  platform.  The  bursting  of  one  of  the  sacks 
and  the  scattering  of  potatoes  made  a  httle  merriment. 
Potatoes  "  had  the  floor  "  that  night. 

Then  the  school  marched  past  the  platform  by  depart- 
ments, the  smallest  children  first.  It  was  indeed  a  tri- 
umphal march.     Everybody  shared  in  the  giving. 

The  orchestra  kept  up  its  splendid  music.  Canned 
goods  were  brought  in  abundance,  also  all  kinds  of 
groceries,  and  wearing  apparel,  bedding,  etc.,  until  the 
platform  was  weighted  down  with  literally  wagon  loads 
of  good  things. 

Some  gave  money.  It  had  been  arranged  beforehand 
that  all  money  brought,  as  far  as  possible,  should  be  pre- 
sented in  new  paper  one  dollar  bills.  Some  young  ladies 
stood  by  the  side  of  the  line,  received  the  money  and 
passed  it  over  to  the  treasurer  of  the  school  who  pinned 
the  bills  end  to  end  on  a  long  white  ribbon.  The  last  to 
come  forward  was  a  young  men's  class,  "  The  Kinetics," 
one  bearing  a  small  stand  and  another  a  huge  pie  in  a 
large  pan  a  foot  and  a  half  in  diameter  with  a  beautiful 
brown  crust  on  top.  The  superintendent  was  asked  to 
cut  the  pie.  When  he  did  so  there  came  forth,  not  the 
"  four  and  twenty  blackbirds  "  of  Mother  Goose  fame. 


158        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

but  twenty  bright  new  one  dollar  bills.  These  were 
pinned  with  the  rest  to  the  long  ribbon,  which,  now  com- 
pleted, was  borne  by  several  young  men  across  the  front 
end  of  the  church,  the  ends  extending  down  the  aisles,  up 
the  stairways,  and  into  the  galleries.  It  was  a  very 
striking  picture  with  its  one  hundred  feet  of  money  made 
up  of  just  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  one  dollar 
bills.  This  money  by  previous  arrangement  known  to 
the  school  was  used  as  follows  :  — 

Fifty  dollars  to  furnish  a  bed  in  the  Toledo  Hospital. 

Fifty  dollars  to  be  sent  to  a  former  pastor  who  is  sick 
and  disabled. 

Thirty  dollars  to  help  a  worthy  and  needy  young  stu- 
dent in  Kentucky, 

Twenty-five  dollars  to  another  deserving  young  student 
in  New  York  State. 

Twenty  dollars  to  be  used  by  the  ladies  of  our  own 
church  to  help  the  needy  poor  of  our  city. 

No  wonder  the  audience  clapped  a  hearty  approval  of 
this  practical  method  of  doing  good,  as  the  long  ribbon 
of  bills  was  displayed.  The  goods  upon  the  platform, 
valued  at  ;^350.oo,  was  distributed  to  the  Boys'  Home, 
Day  Nursery,  Door  of  Hope,  City  Mission,  etc.  It  will 
be  seen  that  in  goods  and  money  the  receipts  from  this 
exercise  aggregated  ;^ 5 25.00.  A  happier  company  never 
assembled  in  our  building  and  it  was  still  happier  when 
it  dispersed  in  the  thought  of  having  done  something 
worth  while.  A  fervent  prayer  and  the  singing  of 
"  Praise  God  From  Whom  All  Blessings  Flow,"  closed 
the  exercises. 

One  young  man  in  college  who  would  have  been 
obliged  to  give  up  his  schooling  but  for  the  help  thus 


Special  Occasions  159 

given  him  in  former  years  by  our  Sunday-school  was 
thereby  enabled  to  complete  his  course  and  afterwards 
became  a  teacher  in  the  institution. 

At  one  such  service  our  home  department  members 
rolled  up  a  beautiful  rubber  tired  invaUd-chair — to  be 
retained  as  the  property  of  the  school  and  loaned  to  any 
who  might  need  it — whether  members  or  not.  It  has 
"  paid  for  itself"  many  times  over  in  the  expressions  of 
gratitude  from  those  who  have  used  it. 

At  the  close  of  these  giving  services  the  platform  looks 
something  like  a  department  store.  It  sometimes  happens 
that  we  endeavour  to  regulate  the  kinds  of  articles  to  be 
given.  On  several  occasions  we  confined  it  to  fruit  and 
vegetables.  Another  year  we  gave  laundry  soap  and  dis- 
tributed it  all  to  the  charitable  institutions  of  the  city.  On 
a  number  of  occasions  we  have  required  a  ticket  of  ad- 
mission consisting  of  a  potato  or  apple.  Five  barrels  of 
these  "  tickets  "  were  sent  to  various  needy  institutions  as 
a  result  on  one  Christmas.  The  members  of  the  school 
receive  absolutely  nothing.  They  have  come  however 
to  look  upon  this  giving  service  as  most  delightful,  and 
they  enjoy  it  far  more  than  they  would  the  receiving  of 
the  small  gifts  we  might  be  able  to  make  them.  We  try 
to  emphasize  in  this  giving  service  the  true  spirit  of 
Christmas  and  to  teach  our  scholars  that  in  this  way  we 
are  doing  just  what  Jesus  came  into  this  world  to  do ; 
that  they  may  learn  of  Him  of  whom  it  is  said, "  He  went 
about  doing  good." 

It  is  touching  to  listen  to  some  of  the  reports  brought 
back  by  those  who  carry  the  gifts  to  the  poor.  A  class 
of  boys  set  a  large  basket  containing  a  Christmas  dinner, 
and  beside  it  a  sack  of  flour  on  the  porch  of  a  poor 


l6o        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

widow.  They  then  knocked  on  the  door  and  ran  away. 
The  "  God  bless  you's  "  which  followed  the  boys  as  they 
ran  was  worth  more  than  any  gift  they  could  have 
received  for  themselves.  One  old  lady  said,  "  If  it  had 
not  been  for  this  gift  my  Christmas  dinner  would  have 
been  dry  bread  and  tea."  The  resolutions  of  thanks 
which  come  from  the  institutions  are  enough  to  remove 
from  the  mind  of  any  the  thought  that  a  giving  Christmas 
does  not  pay.  It  is  the  Lord's  work,  and  when  we  are 
giving  we  are  doing  it  in  His  way. 

There  are  many  other  special  occasions  observed  by 
various  Sunday-schools,  and  many  of  them  with  profit. 
To  some  of  them  a  brief  reference  may  be  made. 

Flag  Day.  This  is  held  in  the  United  States,  near  the 
Fourth  of  July,  and  is  sometimes  called  Patriotic  Day 
and  sometimes  Good  Citizenship  Day.  The  building  is 
decorated  with  flags  and  the  school  sometimes  engages 
in  a  flag  drill.  Patriotic  songs  are  sung  and  patriotic 
speeches  made. 

Parents'  Day.  This  is  a  day  especially  set  apart  for 
the  parents  of  the  children.  Special  endeavour  is  made 
to  secure  their  attendance,  and  when  they  arrive  reserved 
seats  are  given  them  and  special  exercises  are  prepared 
to  entertain  and  profit  them.  We  sometimes  combine 
this  with  our  Rally  Day  and  Children's  Day. 

Thanksgiving  Day.  This  would  naturally  fall  on  the 
Sunday  nearest  Thanksgiving  Day.  This  date  differs  in 
the  United  States  and  Canada.  The  name  of  the  day 
suggests  its  treatment. 

Decision  Day.  This  is  made  the  subject  of  a  chapter 
elsewhere. 

Temperance  Day.    See  chapter  on  temperance. 


XV 
THE  HONOURS  AND  REWARDS 

All  recognition  of  work  done  in  the  Sunday-school 
should  be  entirely  impartial  and  general  in  its  appli- 
cation. The  same  conditions  must  apply  to  officers, 
teachers  and  scholars  alike.  The  smallest  scholar  ought 
not  to  be  asked  to  do  what  the  superintendent,  pastor  and 
teachers  are  unwilling  to  do. 

During  the  session  of  the  school  it  is  customary  with 
us,  as  with  many  others,  to  recognize  in  a  public  way 
those  classes  or  departments  which  make  a  specially  good 
showing  in  certain  directions,  as,  for  instance,  the  recog- 
nition of  the 

Star  Classes.  Usually  a  star  class  is  one  with  every 
member  present.  With  us  not  only  presence  is  required, 
but  every  member,  including  the  teacher,  must  have  his 
own  Bible  brought  from  home.  In  many  schools  one  of 
the  hymns  is  called  the  "  Star  Song."  While  it  is  being 
sung  the  "  Star  Classes "  stand  and  the  others  remain 
seated.  Stars  are  placed  on  standards  at  each  of  these 
classes,  showing  to  the  whole  school  which  classes  have 
attained  this  distinction  for  the  day.  In  other  schools 
the  names  of  these  classes  are  read  from  the  platform. 

Banner  Classes  are  so  named  for  a  variety  of  reasons. 
With  us  the  Excelsior  Banner  is  awarded  for  a  month  to 
the  class  making  the  best  showing  in  home  study  of  the 
lesson,   as   indicated   by   their  written  work.     A   large 

i6i 


l62        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

United  States  silk  flag  is  held  for  a  month  by  the  depart- 
ment showing  the  largest  percentage  of  attendance  to  its 
enrollment  during  the  preceding  month. 

It  will  be  observed  that  no  class  or  scholar  in  any  of 
the  plans  of  recognition  mentioned  receives  anything 
personally.  We  hold  to  the  principle  also  in  recognizing 
the  individual  work  of  the  members,  whether  ofificers, 
teachers,  or  scholars,  that  the  practice  of  giving  prizes 
and  rewards  of  intrinsic  value  often  works  harm  while  it 
seldom  succeeds  in  producing  the  desired  results.  This 
is  our  deliberate  conclusion,  after  having  tried  both  ways. 
Occasionally,  however,  we  slightly  violate  this  rule.  This 
present  quarter  for  instance  (first  quarter,  1905)  our  les- 
sons being  in  John's  Gospel — we  offered  the  neat  little 
"  Gospel  of  John"  books  furnished  by  the  Bible  Institute 
Colportage  Association,  of  Chicago,  to  all  who  would 
read  that  gospel.  We  have  already  given  out  nearly  five 
hundred  of  them  and  the  quarter  is  not  yet  over. 

Members  of  our  school  who  have  reached  in  our  mark- 
ing system  a  percentage  of  ninety-five  per  cent,  for  each 
quarter  of  the  year  are  given  public  recognition  at  the 
anniversary.  For  the  first  year  of  such  record  in  the 
school,  whether  the  member  is  a  primary  scholar,  grown 
scholar,  a  teacher  or  an  ofificer,  he  receives  a 

Robert  Raikes  Diploma.  This  is  a  beautiful  litho- 
graphed diploma,  14x17  inches,  designed  by  the  author 
some  twenty  years  ag:o. 

Herewith  is  a  miniature  reproduction  of  the  diploma. 

This  diploma,  beautifully  framed  and  ready  to  hang 
upon  the  wall,  is  presented  to  the  member  at  the  anni- 
versary service.  He  also  receives  a  celluloid  pin  bearing 
the  name  of  the  school  and  its  emblem  in  the  centre. 


S  , ^'^    s  ^  v  m^^ 

11  ,4k,  ^.  V|  il 


The  Honours  and  Rewards  163 

When  a  member  has  earned  a  second  year  of  perfect  rec- 
ord, he  does  not  receive  another  diploma,  but  a  red  seal 
is  attached  to  the  diploma  he  already  has,  and  he  re- 
ceives in  addition  a  pin  similar  to  the  one  he  received 
the  first  year,  except  that  it  is  red,  the  same  colour  as  the 
seal.  For  the  third  year  of  perfect  record  a  blue  seal 
and  pin  are  given  ;  for  the  fourth  year  the  colour  of  the 
seal  and  pin  is  green ;  for  the  fifth  year,  violet ;  for  the 
sixth  year,  silver ;  for  the  seventh  year,  gold.  All  of 
these  pins  are  very  cheap  except  the  last  one,  which  is 
made  of  solid  gold,  and  costs  a  dollar  each.  It  has  no 
commercial  value,  however,  because  the  name  of  the 
school  is  upon  it,  and  also  the  school  emblem  (an  open 
Bible,  a  cross,  and  the  rays  of  the  sun).  The  six  seals 
referred  to  are  placed  in  round  spaces  on  the  margin  of 
the  diploma,  and  when  they  are  all  present,  the  whole 
makes  a  beautiful  picture. 

The  best  results  in  the  use  of  this  diploma  come  from 
its  cumulative  value.  For  instance,  when  a  member  has 
earned  the  diploma  he  then  wants  the  red  seal.  He 
cannot  get  it,  however,  without  a  whole  year  of  faith- 
fulness. Having  earned  the  red  seal,  he  wants  the  blue 
seal  a  great  deal  more  than  he  wanted  the  red  one,  and 
so  on  to  the  end.  The  diploma  with  its  six  seals,  and 
the  gold  pin,  represent  seven  years  of  faithful  work. 

The  Robert  Raikes  Diploma  is  now  very  popular  in 
all  parts  of  the  country,  being  in  use  to  a  greater  or  less 
degree  in  every  state  of  the  Union  and  in  most  of  the 
Provinces. 

The  Robert  Raikes  Alumni  Diploma.  Hundreds  of 
members  having  earned  and  received  the  Robert  Raikes 
Diploma  with  all  its  seals,  made  it  necessary  to  inaugu- 


164        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

rate  something  else  lest  they  lose  their  interest.  We  con- 
sequently introduced  what  is  known  as  the  Robert  Raikes 
Alumni  Diploma  designed  by  Leslie  C.  Lawrence  of 
Detroit,  Mich,  This  is  much  larger  and  handsomer  than 
the  Robert  Raikes  Diploma,  being  19x24  inches  in  size, 
beautifully  lithographed  in  four  colours  upon  very  heavy 
bond  paper.  This  diploma  is  given,  suitably  framed,  to 
those  who  earn  the  honours  of  the  school  the  eighth  year. 
In  the  margin  of  this  beautiful  diploma  are  spaces  for 
twelve  more  seals,  both  diplomas  thus  covering  a  period, 
all  told,  of  twenty  years  of  faithful  work.  A  number 
have  already  passed  the  eighteenth  year,  with  unabated 
interest.  Facing-  this  pag:e  will  be  found  a  miniature 
Robert  Raikes  Alumni  Diploma. 

It  sometimes  happens  that  members  who  are  working 
for  the  honours  of  the  school  lose  their  record  for  one 
reason  or  another.  It  may  be  on  account  of  removal 
from  the  city,  and  it  may  be  from  indifference.  When 
this  happens  they  can  take  up  the  work  at  any  later  time 
and  go  on  with  their  honours,  even  though  a  number  of 
years  have  elapsed  since  they  received  their  last  recogni- 
tion. The  fact  that  this  is  often  done  shows  that,  while 
the  interest  may  lag  for  a  time,  it  seldom  ever  wholly  dies 
out. 

Something  like  three  hundred  members  of  our  school 
receive  the  honours  every  year  at  the  anniversary. 

There  is  a  movement  on  foot  now  whereby  the  work 
done  in  one  school  where  these  Robert  Raikes  Diplomas 
are  used,  is  recognized  in  other  schools  using  the  same 
system.  So  that,  for  example,  a  scholar  having  earned 
the  diploma  and  several  seals  can,  upon  removing  to 
another  city  and  becoming  a  member  of  another  school 


The  Honours  and  Rewards  165 

using  the  same  system,  go  right  on  earning  the  seals — 
beginning  in  the  new  school  where  he  left  off  in  the  old 
one.  We  have  several  cases  of  that  kind  in  our  school 
now.  This  plan  is  a  good  one  and  tends  to  bring  the 
schools  into  closer  relation  to  each  other  and  at  the  same 
time  encourages  the  scholar  who  removes  to  seek  mem- 
bership at  once  in  another  school. 

Does  it  Pay  ?  The  question  may  well  be  raised  as  to 
whether  all  of  this  detail  and  expense  really  pays  ?  The  ex- 
pense is  considerable,  for  these  diplomas,  frames  and  all, 
are  bestowed  without  cost  upon  those  who  earn  them. 
This  question  is  often  asked  of  us,  and  we  think  we  can 
in  a  very  concrete  form  give  a  conclusive  answer  as  to  its 
value.  One  of  the  principal  results  of  all  this  system  of 
honours  shows  itself  in  the  evenness  of  our  attendance 
throughout  the  year,  and  in  the  percentage  of  our  attend- 
ance to  the  enrollment. 

The  average  attendance  in  our  school  for  the  four 
quarters  of  the  year  ending  December  31st,  1904,  was  as 
follows : — 

Average 
Attendattce 

1st  Quarter,  1904  yyy 

2d  Quarter,  1904  802 

3d   Quarter,  1904  698 

4th  Quarter,  1904  824 


Yearly  Averages,  775 

The  average  enrollment  for  the  year  Avas  995. 

This  shows  that  the  percentage  of  attendance  to  en- 
rollment was  about  seventy-eight  per  cent.  The  at- 
tendance, however,  includes  some  visitors  each  Sunday, 


l66        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

so  that  perhaps  it  would  be  safer  to  say  that  the  per- 
centage of  attendance  each  Sunday,  to  enrollment, 
confining  both  to  actual  membership,  is  seventy  to 
seventy-five.  The  most  interesting  feature  of  these 
figures,  however,  is  the  attendance  during  the  summer 
quarter.  TJie  school  meets  every  Sunday  in  the  year. 
It  will  be  noticed  that  even  this  quarter's  average  is 
only  about  ten  per  cent,  below  the  average  for  the  year. 
Nearly  all  schools  in  the  cities  become  very  much  de- 
pleted during  the  summer  months,  and  many  of  them 
discontinue,  because  they  cannot  keep  up  their  attend- 
ance. The  results  we  have  reached  in  this  respect  we 
attribute  almost  wholly  to  our  marking  system.  The 
members  of  our  school  understand  perfectly  well  that 
the  ninety-five  per  cent,  which  they  must  obtain  in  their 
marking  before  they  will  be  entitled  to  their  honours,  ap- 
plies to  the  summer  quarter  as  well  as  to  the  others. 
However,  we  have  an  advantage  in  this  respect  over 
some  other  churches,  in  that  a  large  proportion  of  our 
people  do  not  take  extensive  trips  in  the  summer  time. 


XVI 

THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  ENJOYING  ITSELF 

The  craving  for  social  enjoyment  is  an  instinct  in  the 
young  which  will  be  satisfied  in  some  way,  either  under 
good  conditions  or  under  bad.  The  Sunday-school 
which  intelligently  addresses  itself  to  the  problem  of 
furnishing  opportunities  for  clean,  pure,  exhilarating  en- 
joyment to  its  members  has  thereby  solved  many  of  its 
other  problems.  The  Sunday-school  is  more  than  a 
school,  and  the  officers  and  teachers  are  more  than 
instructors.  Next  to  the  home,  the  Sunday-school 
should  be  the  happiest  place  on  earth  to  all  its  members, 
and  especially  so  to  those  who  are  young.  If  the 
school  at  frequent  intervals  will  provide  its  members 
with  suitable  entertainments  and  opportunities  for  social 
enjoyment  both  indoors  and  out,  it  will  continually 
tighten  its  hold  upon  them,  and  they  will  the  more 
readily  yield  to  the  one  great  purpose  for  which  the 
Sunday-school  stands.  It  will  be  proper  for  us  to  con- 
sider briefly  some  of  the  methods  by  which  these  highly 
desirable  conditions  can  be  established. 

Entertainments.  Many  churches  are  now  providing, 
not  only  for  the  congregation,  but  also  for  the  Sunday- 
school,  series  of  entertainments  of  various  kinds,  such 
as  lectures,  impersonations,  readings,  musicales  and  con- 
certs. It  is  possible  so  to  arrange  such  courses  of  en- 
tertainments for  the  winter  that  they  may  be  within  easy 
reach  of  nearly  all  the  pupils  of  the  school.     In  one  such 

167 


l68        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

course,  connected  with  our  own  church,  the  whole  course 
costs  but  fifty  cents,  and  any  scholar  under  sixteen  years 
who  will  sell  a  course  ticket  to  another  person  receives 
one  free  for  himself.  This  course  has  been  in  operation 
for  eight  years.  Usually  it  consists  of  five  numbers,  the 
entertainments  costing  from  twenty-five  to  one  hundred 
and  seventy-five  dollars  each.  Some  years  we  have 
come  out  with  a  small  deficit,  but  more  frequently  with  a 
httle  balance  on  the  right  side.  Money  is  not  the  main 
consideration.  It  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  value  of 
these  courses  to  our  church  and  Sunday-school.  They 
satisfy  a  demand  for  just  that  sort  of  intellectual  and 
social  recreation,  a  demand  which  would  otherwise  be 
satisfied  somewhere  else,  and  possibly  that  "  somewhere 
else  "  would  not  be  as  healthful  and  helpful  in  its  influ- 
ence as  our  church  home. 

Some  Sunday-schools  give  a  series  of  very  cheap  en- 
tertainments, charging  the  scholars  five  cents  each  or 
even  a  penny  for  admission.  These  are  usually  of  the 
musical  order;  they  may  be  made  very  entertaining 
and  profitable.  Other  schools  give  free  entertainments 
to  their  scholars,  admission  by  ticket,  the  program 
usually  being  filled  by  local  talent.  For  instance,  some- 
body who  is  familiar  with  electricity  would  give  some 
demonstrations  ;  a  chemist  would  be  called  in  to  give 
experiments  in  his  line ;  the  pastor  or  others  would  give 
illustrated  talks,  using  the  blackboard.  Many  other 
things  might  be  suggested.  All  of  these  things  which 
help  to  satisfy  the  craving  for  intellectual  and  social  rec- 
reation, arc  profitable  to  the  scholar,  and  tend  to  give 
both  church  and  school  a  larger  place  in  his  life. 

Class   Organization.     Probably  more  classes  are  or- 


The  Sunday  School  Enjoying  Itself      169 

ganized  to-day  than  ever  before,  and  under  proper 
restrictions  this  is  a  capital  idea.  In  a  chapter  Hke  this 
we  can  only  touch  upon  the  subject.  Some  books  very 
profitably  devote  much  space  to  it,  for  it  is  worthy  of 
careful  consideration.  There  are  many  very  notable 
illustrations  of  class  organization  in  this  country.  Es- 
pecially is  this  true  of  young  men's  classes.  Proper 
organization  in  a  class  fosters  the  idea  of  fraternity,  in- 
creases mutual  helpfulness  and  binds  its  members  to- 
gether. Such  an  organization  often  carries  a  class  over 
the  discouraging  period  of  a  teacher's  sickness  and 
absence,  or  through  the  summer  vacation  time.  As 
a  rule  the  organization  should  be  very  simple  and 
should  include  the  teacher  as  well  as  the  scholars,  so 
that  the  teacher  may  continually  have  his  hand  upon 
the  class,  and  be  sure  that  nothing  is  done  that  is  not 
helpful.  The  usual  officers  may  be  chosen  and  a  simple 
constitution  adopted.  The  policy  of  the  organization 
should  be  clearly  understood.  We  find  great  variety  at 
this  point.  It  is  well  however  to  combine  the  intellectual 
with  the  social.  The  meetings  should  not  be  held  too 
frequently,  perhaps  once  a  month  is  quite  sufficient. 
Scarcely  any  two  class  organizations,  even  in  the  same 
Sunday-school,  would  carry  on  their  operations  in  pre- 
cisely the  same  manner. 

Possibly  a  concrete  illustration  will  be  helpful.  One 
of  our  young  men's  classes  is  organized  into  what  is 
known  as  The  Scrooby  Club,  It  is  taught  by  a  lady. 
Its  constitution  is  as  follows  :  — 

The  Scrooby  Club.  We,  the  members  of  Mrs. 
Moore's  class,  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  young  men 
into  our  Sunday-school  and  church,  and  for  materially 


170        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

and  systematically  aiding  such  when  sick  or  out  of  em- 
ployment, and  for  our  own  literary  and  social  improve- 
ment do  establish  the  following  constitution  and  by- 
laws. 

Constitution. 

Article  I.  The  name  of  this  organization  shall  be 
"  The  Scrooby  Club." 

Article  IT.  The  motto  of  this  club  shall  be  "  Loyalty 
to  Christ  and  the  Church,  and  Purity  of  Life  and  Pur- 
pose." 

Article  III.  The  colours  of  this  club  shall  be  blue  and 
white. 

Article  IV.  This  club  shall  consist  of  active  and  hon- 
ourary  members. 

The  active  members  shall  consist  of  all  young  men  en- 
rolled in  Mrs.  Moore's  Sunday-school  class  and  all  others 
whom  these  members  may  deem  eligible. 

The  honourary  members  shall  consist  of  the  pastor,  the 
superintendent,  the  ofificers  of  the  young  men's  depart- 
ment and  such  others  as  the  club  may  elect. 

Article  V.  The  officers  of  this  club  shall  be  president, 
vice  president,  secretary,  treasurer,  chaplain  and  the 
chairmen  of  the  lookout,  brotherhood,  and  social  com- 
mittees. 

Article  VI.  The  officers  shall  perform  the  usual  duties 
of  their  office.  The  president  shall  also  appoint  the 
members  of  the  various  committees. 

Article  VII.  The  election  of  officers  shall  occur  on 
the  first  Friday  in  October.  All  elections  shall  be  by 
ballot,  a  majority  being  necessary  for  an  election. 

Article  VIII.     The  lookout  committee  shall  consist  of 


The  Sunday  School  Enjoying  Itself       171 

nine  members.  This  committee  shall  secure  the  names 
and  addresses  of  any  young  men  who  may  be  strangers 
in  our  city  or  who  have  no  church  home  and  shall  en- 
deavour to  see  such,  and,  if  possible,  persuade  them  to 
regularly  attend  our  services. 

The  brotherhood  committee  shall  consist  of  seven 
members.  This  committee  shall  help  young  men  to 
secure  employment,  shall  aid  financially  those  unable  to 
work  because  of  sickness,  and  shall  seek  to  be  of  assist- 
ance and  comfort  to  all  in  need. 

The  social  committee  shall  consist  of  seven  members. 
This  committee  shall  plan  the  entertainment  and  pro- 
gram of  each  meeting. 

By-Laws. 

Article  I.  This  club  shall  hold  its  regular  meetings  on 
the  first  Friday  of  each  month  at  7:30  o'clock. 

Two-thirds  of  the  active  members  present  shall  con- 
stitute a  quorum. 

Article  II.     The  dues  shall  be  ten  cents  per  month. 

A  fine  of  five  cents  shall  be  imposed  upon  any  mem- 
ber absenting  himself  from  a  regular  meeting  without 
sufficient  excuse. 


This  class  has  between  thirty  and  forty  members  and 
their  meetings  are  held  monthly,  at  the  home  of  one  of 
the  members  or  at  that  of  some  one  else  who  may  invite 
them,  or  at  the  church.  A  certain  amount  of  business  is 
transacted  at  each  meeting.  Certain  dues  are  imposed 
and  collected  for  the  purpose  of  paying  the  expenses  of 
the  organization.  Then  there  usually  follows  a  debate  on 
some  practical  theme,  or  a  discussion  of  some  previously 


172       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

selected  subject ;  possibly  also  what  is  known  as  a  class 
paper,  with  an  occasional  recitation  or  reading,  and  al- 
ways some  college  songs  as  they  gather  around  the 
piano,  if  there  is  one.  Occasionally  these  meetings  take 
the  nature  of  sleigh-ride  parties,  bowling  parties,  rowing 
parties,  or  walks  in  the  woods.  There  is  practically  no 
end  to  the  variety  of  delightful  entertainment  which  can 
be  found  when  a  thoroughly  organized  class  sets  about  it. 

Some  classes  have  benevolent  objects  in  view,  and 
make  articles  for  sale  in  order  to  realize  money  for  the 
object  which  they  have  espoused.  The  ingenuity  of 
teachers  and  scholars  will  devise  all  sorts  of  avenues  of 
usefulness  and  pleasure  which  will  be  entirely  proper 
and  add  very  materially  to  the  strength  and  life  of  an 
organized  class. 

Many  classes  have  libraries  all  their  own.  Some,  es- 
pecially young  men's  classes,  have  an  employment  bureau 
so  that  if  one  of  the  members  loses  his  position  the  whole 
class  seeks  to  find  another  for  him. 

Perhaps  the  most  popular  of  the  class  organizations  are 
what  are  known  as  "  Baraca "  for  young  men,  and 
"Philathea"  for  young  women.  The  "  Baraca "  move- 
ment is  very  strong  and  is  growing  rapidly.  They  now 
enroll  many  thousands  in  their  classes  and  are  found  in 
all  parts  of  the  country.  Mr.  M.  A.  Hudson — 200  Com- 
stock  Street,  Syracuse,  N.  Y. — will  answer  questions  and 
furnish  literature.  The  founder  devotes  himself  almost 
entirely  to  the  Baraca  work.  Class  buttons,  class  mottoes, 
class  colours, — each  of  these  has  its  place  and  if  properly 
used  will  produce  good  results. 

I  have  seen  thoroughly  organized  classes  maintain 
their  numbers  with  commendable  regularity  during  the 


The  Sunday  School  Enjoying  Itself      173 

season  of  the  year  when  this  is  most  difficult  to  accom- 
plish, while  others  in  the  same  school  dwindled  almost  to 
nothing.  A  good  deal  depends  upon  the  selection  of  a 
good  name  for  the  class  and  for  this  there  is  no  rule. 
Often  the  best  names  are  those  which  have  local  or 
denominational  significance.  Frequently  the  class 
chooses  the  name  of  a  former  teacher,  one  who  has  re- 
moved or  who  has  passed  away,  or  the  name  of  the 
founder  of  the  class,  or  school,  or  church.  The  real 
purpose  of  a  class  organization,  no  matter  what  the  age 
of  the  scholars  or  the  size  of  the  class,  is  secured  when  a 
spirit  of  fellowship  and  cooperation  is  fully  developed. 
The  only  danger  against  which  w^e  have  to  guard  is  that 
the  organization  shall  usurp  the  proper  place  of  the  class. 

Social  Gatherings.  In  those  departments  or  classes 
which  are  above  the  juniors  or  intermediates  in  age, 
properly  conducted  social  gatherings  are  very  helpful. 
Department  gatherings  had  better  be  held  at  the  church, 
and  class  gatherings  at  the  home  of  the  teacher  or  that 
of  some  member  of  the  class.  With  scholars  who  are 
not  grown  the  teacher  should  always  be  present,  and  in- 
deed this  arrangement  is  the  better  one  for  all  classes.  A 
department  social  once  a  year,  and  a  class  social  twice  a 
year  or  perhaps  once  a  quarter  will  add  greatly  to  the 
pleasure  of  the  school  work  both  for  teachers  and  for 
scholars,  while  they  will  afford  to  the  teacher  many 
opportunities  to  speak  personal  words  to  the  scholars, 
and  to  get  nearer  to  them  than  they  could  in  any  other 
way.  Generally  it  is  better  to  have  some  literary  and 
musical  features  rather  than  to  give  these  meetings  over 
entirely  to  games  and  sports. 

Picnics.    Everybody  knows  what  a  picnic  is,  and  it  is 


174       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

not  necessary  to  try  to  define  one  here.  There  is  a 
certain  helpful  exhilaration  in  the  outdoor  relaxation,  in 
the  running  and  romping  of  the  children,  and  in  the 
games  that  are  usually  engaged  in  on  such  occasions. 
My  purpose  is  to  describe  one  particular  kind  of  a  picnic 
which  we  have  found  by  experience  to  satisfy  the  school 
better  than  any  we  have  ever  had  before.  The  time  came 
when  it  was  necessary  to  introduce  some  new  features 
and  also  to  provide  something  that  would  attract  and 
hold  the  older  scholars,  and  the  members  of  the  church  as 
well,  so  that  the  whole  church  and  school  could  picnic 
together. 

We  heard  of  an  egg  hunting  exercise  connected  with 
a  union  picnic  of  the  schools  of  Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  and 
decided  to  try  that.  Since  then  we  have  had  an  "  Egg 
Hunt "  three  years  in  succession,  and  all  of  our  people, 
old  and  young,  are  enthusiastic  in  their  interest  and  par- 
ticipation in  it.  This  kind  of  a  picnic  can  be  held  in  the 
country  or  village  as  well  as  in  a  city.  Guided  by  a 
description  of  the  picnic  as  we  conduct  it,  any  who  desire 
to  employ  the  same  means  may  adapt  them  to  their  own 
local  conditions. 

We  hold  the  picnic  early  in  September  and  make  it  a 
means  of  rallying  the  members  who  have  scattered  during 
the  summer.  Coming  before  Rally  Day  it  has  much  to 
do  with  increasing  the  attendance  on  that  day.  The 
picnic  is  usually  held  on  Saturday,  so  that  all  the  school 
children  may  attend,  though  it  is  designed  as  much  for 
the  whole  church  as  for  the  Sunday-school  children. 
We  meet  at  the  church  in  the  morning  at  a  given  hour, 
all  bringing  lunch  baskets.  These  baskets  are  left  at  the 
church  and  taken  from  there  to  the  picnic  grounds  in 


The  Sunday  School  Enjoying  Itself       175 

large  wagons.  At  the  time  appointed  all  board  the  open 
street  cars  which  have  been  lined  up  at  the  side  of  the 
church.  In  the  leading  car  is  a  brass  band.  The  small 
children  are  put  in  the  forward  cars  and  with  them  a 
sufficient  number  of  grown  people  to  prevent  accidents. 
When  the  cars  are  all  loaded  (twelve  or  fifteen  of  them) 
the  procession  starts  and  passes  down  through  the  heart 
of  the  city  and  out  to  the  city  park. 

It  is  a  happy  throng  you  may  imagine,  with  shouting 
and  singing  and  laughter.  Each  car  carries  a  banner 
with  the  name  of  the  school,  and  on  each  car  are  a  num- 
ber of  people  who  are  provided  with  packages  ol  confetti 
ribbon.  This  is  made  of  paper  half  an  inch  wide,  in 
various  colours,  and  rolled  in  bolts  like  narrow  tape. 
Holding  the  centre  of  the  ribbon  and  throwing  the  bolt 
makes  a  streamer  perhaps  twenty  or  thirty  feet  long. 
It  is  only  a  few  minutes  after  the  cars  start  before  they 
are  pretty  thoroughly  decorated  with  this  many-coloured 
ribbon,  and  look  very  gay  as  they  pass  through  the  city. 
Each  person  is  provided  with  a  pasteboard  badge  printed 
on  both  sides,  one  side  announcing  the  picnic,  and  the 
other  announcing  the  Rally  Day  which  is  to  come. 

On  arriving  at  the  grounds  a  procession  is  formed, 
with  the  band  leading,  followed  by  the  small  children, 
these  by  the  larger  children,  and  so  on,  including  adults, 
until  all  are  in  line  marching  from  the  car  line  to  the  part 
of  the  park  which  is  to  be  used  for  the  picnic.  Then 
comes  the  egg  hunt.  The  first  year  we  used  real  eggs 
which  had  been  coloured.  Since  then,  however,  wooden 
eggs  painted  a  bright  red  are  used.  The  committee 
having  in  charge  the  hiding  of  the  eggs,  takes  a  thousand 
of  them  to  the  park  early  in  the  morning.     In  various 


176        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

sections  of  the  park  they  are  hidden  away  in  the  grass 
and  the  bushes,  in  the  forks  of  the  trees  and  in  any 
suitable  place.  One  section  of  the  park  is  reserved  for 
the  beginners  ;  another  for  the  primaries  ;  another  for  the 
juniors,  and  so  on,  not  forgetting  the  grown  up  people. 
The  departments  are  then  separated  and  the  officers  and 
teachers  of  each  department  are  informed,  for  the  first 
time,  where  their  field  of  operations  hes.  There  is  also 
one  golden  egg  for  each  department.  At  a  given  signal 
all  start  upon  the  egg  hunt.  None  are  more  interested 
and  zealous  in  their  search  than  the  men  and  women.  The 
hunt  lasts  nearly  an  hour,  for  some  of  the  eggs  are  hidden 
away  very  securely.  After  it  is  over  the  boy  and  the 
girl,  or  the  man  and  the  woman  of  each  department  who 
has  been  most  successful  in  that  department,  and  those 
who  find  the  golden  eggs,  are  suitably  rewarded  in  some 
way.  The  first  year  they  were  given  an  automobile  ride, 
and  the  second  a  watermelon  treat,  last  year  a  boat  ride 
in  a  steam  launch.  The  real  sport,  however,  lies  in 
searching  for  the  eggs,  and  this  is  clean  sport  as  well  as 
very  exciting  while  it  is  going  on. 

After  the  egg  hunt  is  over  there  comes  the  old- 
fashioned  picnic  dinner,  which  needs  no  explanation. 
Then  follows  competitive  games  of  all  kinds,  adapted  to 
children  of  all  ages  and  to  grown  people  as  well,  from  the 
catching  of  a  rubber  ball  by  the  beginners  to  a  baseball 
game  by  the  young  men.  Races,  chariot  contests, 
balloon  ascensions,  etc.,  are  part  of  the  varied  program. 
Everybody  is  allowed  the  largest  liberty  to  enjoy  himself 
as  he  sees  fit.  Our  egg  hunting  picnic  adds  greatly  to 
the  strength  of  our  school  life,  while  it  is  enjoyed  more 
than  any  other  kind  we  have  ever  had  in  the  past.     There 


The  Sunday  School  Enjoying  Itself      177 

is  nothing  connected  with  it  except  the  street  car  parade 
that  cannot  be  copied  anywhere. 

Conclusion.  The  entire  chapter  on  "  The  Sunday- 
School  Enjoying  Itself,"  would  not  be  worth  the  space  it 
occupies  if  I  did  not  say  in  closing  that  all  of  these  things, 
whether  entertainments,  class  organizations,  socials  or 
picnics  are  but  means  to  an  end,  and  whenever,  on  any 
account,  any  of  them  are  allowed  to  interfere  with  the  real 
purpose  of  the  Sunday-school,  they  are  doing  more  harm 
than  good.  We  believe,  however,  that  a  certain  amount 
of  relaxation,  sociability  and  enjoyment  are  consistent 
with  the  highest  type  of  real  Christian  work.  There  is 
that  craving  for  these  things,  especially  in  the  youthful 
heart  and  mind  which  will  find  satisfaction  somewhere, 
and  certainly  it  is  better  to  sanctify  the  games  and  enjoy- 
ments with  which  they  are  familiar,  than  it  is  continually 
to  tell  the  children  not  to  do  this  or  that.  We  believe 
that  a  baseball  game  can  be  played  to  the  glory  of  God, 
and  that  all  of  these  other  things  can  be  conducted  in  the 
same  way. 

When  class  organizations  degenerate  into  minstrel 
shows  or  masquerades,  they  are  compromising  them- 
selves and  lowering  the  standard  they  represent.  Much 
of  the  success  lies  in  the  hands  of  the  officers  and  teach- 
ers in  all  of  these  matters,  and  the  responsibility  hes  there 
too.  Nehemiah  said,  "  The  joy  of  the  Lord  is  your 
strength,"  and  all  these  things  under  proper  restriction 
and  management,  if  carried  on  for  the  right  purpose,  in 
the  right  manner,  will  add  to  the  efficiency  of  the  school 
work  rather  than  detract  from  it.  Of  all  the  people  on 
the  earth  God's  children  should  be  the  happiest,  and 
while  it  is  true  that  they  should  find  their  chief  enjoy- 


lyS       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

mcnt  in  Him,  in  His  word  and  in  His  work,  the  re- 
laxation of  the  body  afforded  by  pure  and  innocent 
amusement  is  not  detrimental  but  helpful  in  this  direc- 
tion. 


XVII 
THE  BLACKBOARD  AND  OBJECT  TEACHING 

"  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  grain  of  mus- 
tard seed,  which  a  man  took,  and  sowed  in  his  field : 
which  indeed  is  less  than  all  seeds  :  but  when  it  is  grown, 
it  is  greater  than  the  herbs,  and  becometh  a  tree,  so  that 
the  birds  of  the  heaven  come  and  lodge  in  the  branches 
thereof"  (Matt.  13:  31,  32). 

This  is  object  teaching,  and  the  Master  Himself  is  au- 
thority for  its  use.  Objects  may  be  real  or  imaginary. 
In  the  case  cited  above  it  is  not  at  all  certain  that  Christ 
had  a  mustard  seed  in  His  hand,  or  that  He  referred  to  a 
particular  man  or  field ;  nevertheless  this  was  object- 
teaching.  There  is  a  right  and  a  wrong  way  of  using 
objects  ;  but  with  many  teachers  the  practice  is  much 
abused  by  unwise  application.  It  must  be  laid  down  as 
a  basic  principle  that  no  object  should  ever  be  used  in 
teaching  for  the  mere  purpose  of  using  an  object.  Any 
sort  of  object  teaching  which  leaves  in  the  mind  the 
memory  of  the  object  instead  of  that  of  the  lesson  taught, 
is  a  damage  rather  than  a  help.  A  child  went  home  from 
the  Sunday-school  and  said  to  his  mother, "  I  don't  think 
much  of  Jesus  any  more  ;  He's  nothing  but  a  pasteboard 
man."  The  teacher  had  evidently  pinned  a  picture  of 
Christ  to  the  wall  or  blackboard  and  had  not  been  careful 
to  explain  that  it  was  nothing  but  a  picture ;  she  had 

179 


i8o        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

actually  taught  that  Christ  was  a  pasteboard  man,  though 
she  did  not  realize  that  she  was  doing  so.  In  a  conven- 
tion of  Sunday-school  workers  we  heard  a  speaker  say : 
"  These  are  the  twelve  apostles  and  this  one  is  Judas." 
She  pointed  to  twelve  sticks  stuck  up  in  the  sand,  one  of 
which  was  painted  black.  Wooden  apostles  and  clothes- 
pin angels  have  done  duty  long  enough  ;  nevertheless 
there  is  a  power  in  the  right  and  wise  use  of  objects 
which  we  have  little  realized. 

Object  Teaching  is  Scientific.  We  are  told  by  those 
who  are  experts  in  this  specialty  that  the  optic  nerve  is 
the  largest  and  most  sensitive  nerve  entering  the  brain, 
the  seat  of  intelligence.  Indeed,  some  go  so  far  as  to  say 
that  we  learn  four  times  as  much  through  the  eye  as 
through  all  the  other  senses  combined. 

Object  Teaching  is  Efficient.  Many  of  our  best  edu- 
cators have  for  a  long  time  claimed  that  a  child  will  learn 
rriore  up  to  seven  years  of  age  than  he  will  learn  in  all  his 
life  from  that  age  on.  This  is  largely  due  to  his  use  of 
the  sense  of  sight.  He  learns  innumerable  things  that 
are  never  found  in  books.  He  learns  that  an  animal 
moves  and  a  tree  stands  still ;  he  learns  the  relation  of 
things  to  things.  This  sounds  absurd ;  but  all  these 
things  must  be  learned  ;  and  they  are  all  learned  through 
the  eye.  The  sight  is  used  sometimes  as  the  sum  of  all 
the  other  senses.  For  instance,  when  after  you  have 
puzzled  your  brain  over  a  mathematical  problem  which 
you  could  not  solve,  a  (ew  words  from  your  teacher 
lifted  the  cloud,  you  will  remember  that  you  said,  "  Oh, 
I  see  ! "  You  meant  that  you  understood  ;  the  expres- 
sion used  not  referring  especially  to  the  sense  of  sight. 


The  Blackboard  and  Object  Teaching     181 

This  only  illustrates  the  thought  that  unconsciously  we 
regard  this  sense  as  the  most  important. 

Object  Teaching  is  Approved  in  the  Bible.  Both  Old 
and  New  Testaments  are  full  of  it.  One  thing  is  compared 
with  another,  and  familiarity  with  the  one  helps  to  give  a 
right  impression  of  the  other.  Any  one  who  will  look 
through  the  Bible  with  this  thought  in  mind  will  be 
astonished  beyond  measure  to  find  how  many  different 
objects  are  used  as  a  means  of  instruction.  They  include 
almost  every  animal  you  can  think  of,  as  dove,  camel, 
conies,  calf,  bee,  ant,  moth,  sparrow,  dog,  horse,  sheep, 
goats.  They  include  many  plants  and  fruits  and  eatables, 
as  for  example,  butter,  honey,  apples,  oil,  bread,  water, 
wine,  lily,  grass,  vine,  salt.  We  find  also  reference  to 
many  parts  of  the  human  body,  as  the  head,  hand,  feet, 
heart,  eye,  ear,  teeth,  hair,  tongue,  bones,  marrow,  bowels. 
Some  of  the  more  notable  objects  mentioned  in  the  Bible 
are  the  brazen  serpent,  the  passover,  the  pillar  of  fire,  the 
pillar  of  cloud,  the  burning  bush,  the  rainbow,  the  fleece, 
the  tabernacle  and  its  furniture,  etc.,  etc.  The  list  is 
almost  endless.  Parables  are  examples  of  object  teaching 
in  the  truest  sense ;  "  and  without  a  parable  spake  He 
not  unto  them." 

The  Use  of  Objects  is  Approved  in  Secular  Teaching. 
Every  schoolroom  is  a  proof  of  this.  You  will  find  there 
maps,  charts,  pictures,  globes,  blocks,  manikins,  black- 
boards, plaster  casts,  and  the  like. 

Object  Teaching  is  Practical.  Anybody  can  use  ob- 
jects if  he  will  use  good  judgment.  The  one  method  of 
object  teaching  which  is  the  most  convenient  and  indeed 
the  most  practical  in  any  Sunday-school  is  the  black- 


l82        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

board.  Any  person  can  use  the  blackboard  if  he  will 
mix  brains  with  his  chalk.  The  simplest  work  is  the 
best  work.  The  work  which  is  done  in  the  presence  of 
the  school,  crude  as  it  may  be,  is  far  more  effective  than 
much  more  artistic  or  elaborate  work  done  beforehand. 
Do  not  attempt  to  draw  finished  pictures  on  the  black- 
-board ;  use  the  simplest  sort  of  landscape  outlines ;  on 
no  account  undertake  to  draw  faces  or  animals  in  the 
presence  of  the  school.  Some  one  has  wisely  said,  "  If 
you  cannot  draw  on  the  blackboard,  draw  on  your  imag- 
ination." For  instance,  here  is  a  man  and  a  boy,  |  |  ; 
you  do  not  need  to  label  either  one  of  them ;  your  schol- 
ars will  quickly  determine  which  is  the  man  and  which 
the  boy.  The  blackboard  is  useful  for  many  purposes. 
The  numbers  of  the  hymns  for  the  day  may  be  written 
on  it  and  thus  the  time  used  in  announcement  may  be 
saved.  Many  use  the  blackboard  to  display  the  reports 
of  the  day  ;  this  is  called  the  visible  report.  Time  is 
saved  thereby,  while  everybody  is  able  to  see  the  report 
for  that  day  at  a  glance.  A  man  with  a  blackboard,  and 
a  piece  of  chalk  in  his  hand  can  hold  an  audience  a  long 
time  whether  he  makes  a  mark  on  the  board  or  not,  pro- 
vided he  makes  a  motion  occasionally  as  if  he  were  going 
to.  The  simplest  use  of  the  blackboard  is  the  best  use. 
No  line  should  ever  be  made  which  cannot  be  seen 
from  all  parts  of  the  room.  Our  purpose  here  is  to 
give  a  few  illustrations  that  may  be  helpful  by  way  of 
suggestion. 

Use  your  blackboard  for  maps.  The  best  map  is  an 
outline  map.  The  ordinary  printed  maps,  especially 
those  in  the  quarterlies   and  many  used  for  wall  pur- 


The  Blackboard  and  Object  Teaching     183 

poses  are  so  filled  up  with  the  names  of  towns  and 
rivers  and  mountains  and  lakes  that  you  can  scarcely 
find  what  you  want.  A  few  bold  strokes  on  the  black- 
board and  you  have  a  map.  It  may  not  be  accurate ; 
but  it  will  answer  the  purpose  of  the  best  map  you  can 
buy.  The  accompanying  map  can  be  drawn  in  less  than 
half  a  minute  and  will  answer  every  purpose  for  a  map 
of  the  Holy  Land.  The  superintendent  should  practice 
until  he  can  draw  this  map  while  he  talks. 


184        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 
A  few  other  illustrations. 


The  Picture  Guess  Review.  This  affords  an  admi- 
rable opportunity  for  the  use  of  the  blackboard.  Draw  a 
picture  frame  upon  your  board  and  then  imagine  a  pic- 
ture in  it.  Describe  the  picture  to  the  school  and  ask 
them  to  tell  what  it  is.  We  have  found  this  very  helpful 
indeed.  For  instance,  suppose  the  superintendent  should 
say,  "  This  is  my  imaginary  picture.  I  see  a  house  in  a 
town.  People  are  crowding  about  the  house  so  that  I 
cannot  see  the  lower  part  of  it  at  all.  They  seem  to  be 
trying  to  get  into  the  house,  and  they  are  looking  over 
the  shoulders  of  those  in  front.  Something  very  interest- 
ing must  be  going  on  in  there.  On  one  side  of  the 
house,  outside,  is  a  stairway.  On  the  house-top  I  see 
four  men  looking  down  through  a  hole  in  the  roof. 
They  seem  to  be  greatly  interested  in  what  they  are 
witnessing."  This  is  enough  for  the  description  ;  then 
ask  questions  of  the  school :  Why  has  this  crowd  as- 
sembled ?     Who  is  there  inside  who  attracts  so  much  at- 


The  Blackboard  and  Object  Teaching     18^ 

tention  ?  What  has  He  been  doing  there  ?  What  are 
the  four  men  doing  ?  Whom  did  they  bring  ?  Why  ? 
Why  did  they  not  enter  through  the  door  ?  What  did 
the  Great  Physician  do  to  the  man  whom  they  brought  ? 
How  did  the  man  who  was  healed  show  his  gratitude  ? 
Not  all  lessons  will  yield  to  this  kind  of  treatment,  but 
as  a  rule  those  which  may  be  called  descriptive  lessons 
will. 


This  little  illustration  given  me  by  Dr.  Schauffler  can 
be  used  to  emphasize  the  necessity  of  being  on  the  right 
track.  It  is  known  that  the  railroad  tracks  in  a  union 
station  are  close  together  and  parallel.  Apparently  they 
go  in  the  same  direction.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  however, 
after  the  trains  leave  the  station,  one  may  go  north  and 
another  south.  If  a  man  wants  to  go  north  he  must  be 
very  careful  to  get  on  the  train  which  goes  north.  It 
will  not  do  to  say,  "  This  other  train  is  headed  in  the 
same  direction,"  for  it  may  travel  in  a  different  direction 
altogether  after  it  leaves  the  station.  This  makes  an  im- 
pressive lesson  ;  we  all  appear  to  be  travelling  in  the  same 
direction ;  we  come  into  the  world  as  infants,  have  many 


286        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

experiences  in  common,  arrive  at  old  age  and  die, — these 
are  the  common  experiences  of  all ;  but  the  Bible  teaches 
us  that  the  ways  part  at  the  grave  and  that  those  who 
have  served  God  are  taken  home  to  live  with  Him,  and 
those  who  have  not  served  God  are  separated  from  Him. 
It  makes  a  great  difference  whether  we  are  on  the  right 
track  or  on  the  other  one. 


The  prayer  chain  is  beautifully  explained  in  this  sim- 
ple illustration : — There  are  three  links  in  this  prayer 
chain.  Cornelius  is  praying  at  Caesarea ;  that  is  one-half 
of  a  link.  God  answers  him  and  tells  him  what  to  do ; 
that  is  the  other  half  of  the  same  link.  Peter  is  praying 
in  Joppa  ;  that  is  one-half  of  a  link.  God  tells  him  what 
to  do  when  certain  people  call  for  him ;  that  is  the  other 
half  of  that  link.  Cornelius  does  what  God  tells  him  to 
do,  sends  for  Peter ;  that  is  one-half  of  the  third  link. 
Peter  does  what  God  tells  him  to  do ;  that  is  the  other 
half  of  this  link.  Thus  the  prayer  chain  is  complete,  and 
we  discover  that  the  shortest  way  from  one  heart  to 
another  is  oftentimes  by  way  of  the  throne  of  God. 

There  are  numerous  methods  of  using  the  blackboard. 


The  Blackboard  and  Object  Teaching     187 

If  lettering  is  done,  as  a  rule  it  should  be  printed  rather 
than  written,  especially  if  it  is  to  be  read  across  the 
room ;  writing  will  do  only  for  a  small  class-room.  The 
blackboard  should  not  be  filled  up  with  printing  or  writ- 
ing either;  the  less  you  can  put  upon  it  the  better, 
provided  you  make  the  truth  plain.  Acrostics  are  some- 
times used  with  good  effect.  Coloured  chalks  are  help- 
ful ;  avoid  the  heavy  colours  such  as  deep  blue,  brown, 
etc.  The  most  useful  colours  are  red  and  yellow,  some- 
times green,  but  as  a  rule,  use  more  white  than  anything 
else. 

I  saw  Mr.  E.  A.  Fox  of  Kentucky,  use  this  illustration 
on  one  occasion  with  good  effect.  He  was  trying  to  teach 
that  the  best  way  to  get  rid  of  a  bad  habit  was  to  get 
rid  of  it  all  at  once,  and  not  a  little  at  a  time.  He  wrote 
the  word  habit  on  the  board  thus 


HABIT 

He  then  erased  the  H  and  said  "  you  have  A  BIT 
left "  ;  he  then  erased  the  A  and  said,  "  you  still  have  a 
BIT  "  ;  he  then  erased  the  B  and  said  "  you  still  have 
IT " ;  then  putting  the  whole  word  upon  the  board 
again  he  erased  it  all  at  once.  Those  who  saw  this  will 
not  forget  its  lesson. 

However,  the  blackboard  is  not  the  only  means  of  ob- 
ject-teaching. For  the  purpose  of  suggestion  only,  here 
are  a  few  illustrations.  Take  a  piece  of  stiff  paper  and 
cut  it  in  two  on  the  zigzag  line : 


l88       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 


This  can  be  used  to  illustrate  how  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments  fit  into  each  other.  For  example,  show  only 
one  piece  of  the  paper,  explaining  that  the  angles  and 
corners  of  the  jagged  edge  might  represent  what  the 
Old  Testament  said  about  a  given  subject ;  then  produce 
the  other  piece  of  paper ;  these  angles  and  corners  are 
what  the  New  Testament  says  on  the  same  subject. 
Now  put  the  pieces  together  and  show  how  they  fit  into 
each  other.  For  example,  the  Old  Testament  says  that 
Christ  was  to  come ;  that  He  was  to  be  born  of  a  virgin ; 
born  in  Bethlehem ;  would  be  a  man  of  sorrow  ;  would  be 
crucified ;  no  bones  would  be  broken ;  would  be  buried 
three  days  and  ascend  to  the  Father.  Turning  to  the 
New  Testament  we  find  that  each  of  these  things  did 
actually  happen.  This  proves  beyond  question  that  the 
Christ  of  the  New  Testament  was  the  Christ  of  prophecy. 
One  of  the  slips  of  paper  represents  the  Old  Testament 
and  the  other  its  fulfillment ;  they  fit  into  each  other  like 
the  two  parts  of  a  hinge. 

The  Apple.  A  primary  teacher  showed  to  her  class 
a  beautiful  apple  with  a  rotten  spot  in  it.  After  calling 
attention  to  the  rotten  spot  she  laid  the  apple  on  the 
shelf  in  the  presence  of  the  class.     Sunday  after  Sunday 


The  Blackboard  and  Object  Teaching     189 

she  took  it  down  and  showed  the  class  how  the  spot  had 
grown,  until  finally  the  apple  was  all  bad.  Then  she 
made  the  application,  that  the  evil  in  the  heart  would 
grow  like  that  unless  it  was  taken  out ;  and  she  showed 
them  the  only  way  by  which  it  could  be  taken  out. 

A  Burnt  Stick.  This  shows  the  influence  of  bad  com- 
panions and  bad  reading.  It  is  impossible  to  take  hold 
of  it  without  being  soiled. 

Petrified  Wood  is  made  what  it  is  by  its  surroundings. 

Fly  Paper.  The  attractiveness  of  sin  and  the  difficulty 
of  extricating  one's  self  from  it. 

A  Live  Coal  and  a  Dead  One.  The  only  way  to  put 
Hfe  into  a  dead  coal  is  to  put  it  by  the  side  of  a  live 
one.  This  shows  the  power  of  a  bad  example  or  a  good 
one. 

Two  Candles  Lighted,  one  a  very  short  one  and  one 
a  very  long  one.  These  represent  the  Christian  hfe ;  the 
long  candle  represents  the  boy  and  the  short  one  the  old 
man.  The  boy  has  longer  to  shine  than  the  man.  The 
advantage  of  becoming  a  Christian  in  youth. 

A  Sensitive  Plate.  A  plate  can  be  made  ready  for 
the  camera  by  the  photographer  in  a  dark  room  and 
securely  wrapped  in  a  box.  Hold  up  the  box  and  tell 
what  is  in  it  and  the  condition  of  the  plate.  Explain 
that  the  moment  the  light  strikes  it  the  plate  is  spoiled 
for  a  picture  because  it  was  not  exposed  under  right  con- 
ditions ;  if  it  had  been  it  would  have  reproduced  a 
beautiful  picture  of  the  boy  or  girl  who  was  placed  be- 
fore it.     The  power  of  first  impressions. 

An  Electrotype.  This  was  once  a  soft,  plastic  metal 
when  it  Avas  in  a  heated  state ;  now  it  is  fixed  and  cannot 
be  changed.     Childhood  and  its  plasticity. 


190        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

The  Magnet.  Christ's  power  to  draw  men  to  Himself 
represented  by  the  magnet.  Many  beautiful  illustrations 
can  be  made  from  this  little  toy.  For  instance,  one  piece 
of  metal  drawn  by  the  magnet  will  draw  another  because 
it  has  now  the  power  of  the  magnet.  Small  nails  are 
good  to  use  here.  A  very  small  nail  drawn  by  the 
magnet  will  draw  a  larger  one.  A  child  may  sometimes 
draw  his  father  or  mother  to  Christ.  An  old,  rusty  nail 
yields  very  slightly  to  the  drawing  power  of  the  magnet. 
Men  who  have  been  long  in  sin  are  hard  to  draw,  yet 
Christ  can  draw  them.  A  very  pretty  illustration  is  to 
place  a  magnet  on  one  side  of  a  sheet  of  paper  and  a 
cambric  needle  on  the  other,  holding  the  paper  so  the 
audience  can  see  the  needle  but  not  the  magnet.  The 
needle  will  follow  the  magnet  as  it  is  moved  from  one 
part  of  the  paper  to  another.  Yielding  to  the  influence 
of  an  unseen  power. 

Umbrella  Handle.  Many  umbrella  handles  have 
crooks  on  the  end  and  look  as  though  they  were  made 
of  roots.  This  is  actually  true  and  it  is  done  we  are  told 
in  the  following  manner.  A  certain  kind  of  shrub  which 
sends  down  a  long  straight  root  is  cultivated  for  the  pur- 
pose of  making  umbrella  handles.  When  they  arrive  at  a 
certain  age  the  plants  are  pulled  up  and  the  root  tied  in 
a  knot.  They  are  then  planted  again  and  allowed  to 
grow  until  the  root  is  large  enough  for  an  umbrella 
handle.     The  lesson  is  obvious. 

The  Power  of  Habit.  This  is  beautifully  illustrated  by 
taking  common  sewing  thread  and  wrapping  it  around  a 
boy  whose  arms  are  held  straight  down  by  his  sides. 
Talk  about  a  habit  winding  itself  around  a  boy.  It  may 
be  the  habit  of  swearing  or  the  use  of  tobacco.     Stop 


The  Blackboard  and  Object  Teaching      191 

occasionally  and  ask  the  boy  to  break  the  thread.  He 
will  do  so.  Wind  more  thread,  it  is  more  difficult  to 
break  it.     Finally  he  cannot  break  it  at  all. 

The  Holy  Spirit.  The  leading  or  drawing  power  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  is  illustrated,  though  perhaps  in  a  very 
imperfect  way,  as  follows  :  — Take  a  very  small  thread, 
as  fine  as  you  can  get.  Blindfold  a  boy  and  then  lead 
him  about  the  room  by  the  thread.  If  he  follows  as  you 
draw  you  can  lead  him  anywhere.  Let  him  stop  how- 
ever and  resist,  and  the  thread  is  broken ;  he  cannot  fol- 
low because  he  does  not  feel  your  drawing  any  more. 

A  Lily  Bulb  and  a  Lily  shown  together  make  a 
beautiful  illustration  of  death  and  the  resurrection. 

Building  a  Character.  Ordinary  building  blocks  can 
be  used  for  this  very  effectively.  In  using  the  blocks 
you  might  put  one  or  two  in  irregularly  so  that  after  a 
while  the  wall  is  impaired  and  falls.  A  paper  block 
might  be  put  in  which  the  weight  of  the  wall  will  press 
together,  causing  the  whole  to  fall  down.  Thus  weak 
places  in  our  character  are  sure  to  show  themselves 
sooner  or  later. 

The  Slimy  Tracks  of  the  Fish  Worm  on  the  sidewalk 
after  a  shower  may  illustrate  the  effect  left  upon  the  mind 
by  reading  bad  books. 

A  Temperance  Illustration.  For  a  capital  temperance 
object  lesson  see  the  last  illustration  in  the  chapter  on 
temperance. 

A  Bottle  Illustration.  There  are  very  many  illustra- 
tions given  by  means  of  bottles  and  chemicals.  We  will 
give  but  one.  Have  a  pint  bottle  of  clear  glass  nearly 
full  of  pure  water.  Also  a  one  ounce  bottle  of  tincture 
of  iodine  and  an  ounce  bottle  of  saturated  solution  of 


192       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

hypo-sulphite  of  soda.  The  large  bottle  represents  the 
heart  of  a  little  child  before  consciously  doing  anything 
wrong.  A  few  drops  of  the  tincture  of  iodine  will  stain 
the  water.  This  may  represent  the  first  wrong  thing  that 
is  done.  When  one  has  done  wrong  once  it  is  easier  to 
do  wrong  again ;  the  habit  grows.  Keep  pouring  in  a 
little  more  and  a  httle  more  of  the  tincture  of  iodine  un- 
til the  contents  of  the  large  bottle  is  very  black  and 
ugly.  This  may  now  represent  a  man  grown  up  in  a  sin- 
ful life.  Ask  the  children  if  the  contents  of  the  bottle 
can  be  made  pure  and  clean  by  washing  the  outside  of 
the  bottle  ?  This  will  illustrate  that  we  need  something 
more  than  to  dress  up  and  look  respectable  and  appear 
clean  on  the  outside.  Such  verses  as  Psalm  51:7  and 
I  John  I  :  9  might  be  taught  in  connection  with  this  illus- 
tration. Explain  that  only  Christ  can  make  the  heart 
pure  and  clean.  When  we  take  Him  into  the  life  and 
heart  He  drives  out  the  sin ;  they  cannot  stay  in  the 
same  heart  together  with  Him.  Then  pour  into  the 
large  bottle  the  saturated  solution.  Explain  that  you  are 
using  a  figure  only  and  that  this  represents  the  effect  on 
the  life  of  taking  Christ  into  the  heart.  The  water  in 
the  large  bottle  will  return  immediately  to  its  natural 
colour.  Explain  now  that  this  represents  a  Christian  life 
and  that  a  Christian  can  withstand,  by  the  power  of 
Christ,  the  temptations  that  come  in  his  way.  Illustrate 
again  by  pouring  into  the  large  bottle  some  of  the  tinc- 
ture of  iodine,  and  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  it  does 
not  taint  the  water  as  it  did  before,  because  there  is  some- 
thing there  now  that  resists  its  power.  Jesus  in  the  life 
enables  us  to  resist  temptations  to  which  we  yielded  be- 
fore. 


XVIII 

FUNDAMENTAL  LESSONS 

All  Sunday-school  workers  agree  that  neither  the  In- 
ternational System  of  lessons,  nor  indeed  any  other  sys- 
tem of  lessons,  furnishes  the  scholars  all  they  ought  to 
receive  in  the  Sunday-school.  They  are  not  intended  to. 
Hence  the  importance  of  teaching  in  a  systematic  way — 
the  great  facts  about  the  Bible — its  make-up — its  history 
— its  leading  events  and  dates — its  choicest  passages. 
There  should  also  be  some  knowledge  of  church  history, 
including  that  of  the  denomination,  and  the  memorizing 
of  some  of  the  choice  standard  hymns.  Supplemental 
Studies,  Courses  of  Supplemental  Work,  Pupil  Training, 
etc.,  are  various  titles  which  have  been  given  to  the 
courses  proposed  to  meet  these  deficiencies.  Many 
schools  prefer  their  own  course  and  nearly  all  the  denomi- 
nations and  publishing  houses,  as  well  as  many  inde- 
pendent authors,  have  issued  courses  of  different  degrees 
of  value. 

As  to  the  name,  we  think  fundauiental  is  better  than 
supplemental.  If  the  knowledge  given  consists  of  funda- 
mental facts  of  the  Word  of  God,  then  the  lessons  may 
well  be  called  Fundamental  Lessons.  In  many  places 
these  lessons  are  used  as  a  basis  of  grading,  and  this  is  a 
proper  use  for  them.  We  would  not  make  these  the  only 
basis  of  grading,  however.  Strictly  speaking,  it  should 
rather  be  made  a  condition  of  honourable  promotion. 

193 


194       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

For  example,  if  the  fundamental  work  required  in  the 
primary  department  is  done  by  a  given  scholar,  that 
scholar  should  receive  recognition  for  the  work  done,  and 
perhaps  a  certificate  to  that  effect.  The  scholar  should 
be  honoured  in  every  possible  way,  and  publicity  given  to 
the  fact  that  he  has  done  the  required  work.  His  class- 
mate, however,  who  has  not  done  the  work,  should  be 
promoted  with  him,  if  otherwise  qualified,  but  without 
any  public  recognition  or  honour.  If  proper  ceremonies 
are  had  in  connection  with  the  bestowing  of  these  certifi- 
cates, those  who  have  not  earned  them  will  be  ashamed 
because  of  their  neglect,  and  in  many  cases  will  endeavour 
to  redeem  themselves  by  making  up  the  required  work. 

In  our  school  we  have  tried  several  courses  of  funda- 
mental lessons.  At  present  we  are  using  what  we  con- 
sider to  be  the  best  all-round  course  we  have  seen.  It 
originated  in  Nova  Scotia  with  Dr.  Frank  Woodbury  of 
HaHfax,  was  adopted  by  the  Nova  Scotia  Sunday  School 
Association  and  those  of  the  other  Maritime  Provinces, 
then  also  by  various  religious  bodies  in  Canada.  It  is 
rapidly  coming  into  favour  in  the  United  States,  and  has 
already  been  adopted  as  the  ofificial  course  in  a  number 
of  states.  By  permission  of  the  Nova  Scotia  Association 
we  have  changed  it  a  trifle  to  adapt  it  to  the  departments 
as  divided  in  our  school. 

The  following  suggestions  are  printed  upon  one  page 
of  the  booklet  as  we  use  it  in  our  school,  and  will  give  to 
our  readers  a  correct  idea  of  our  method  of  conducting 
the  fundamental  lessons. 

First.  The  work  outlined  in  this  simple  course  of 
fundamental  studies  is  very  easy.  All  that  is  required  in 
any  one  year  can  be  learned  in  two  hours. 


Fundamental  Lessons  195 

Second.  We  desire  every  member  of  the  school  who 
is  included  in  the  beginners',  primary,  junior  and  inter- 
mediate departments  to  do  the  work  assigned. 

Third.  At  the  end  of  each  year,  except  the  last  year 
in  each  department,  scholars  who  have  done  the  work  for 
that  year  will  receive  cards  indicating  that  fact. 

Fourth.  At  the  end  of  the  last  year  in  each  depart- 
ment, scholars  who  have  completed  the  work  assigned  for 
the  various  years  for  that  department,  will  receive  beauti- 
ful certificates  of  promotion  to  the  next  department. 

Fifth.  All  of  these  cards  and  certificates  will  be  pre- 
sented in  public  and  the  transfers  made  with  suitable  ex- 
ercises and  honourable  mention. 

Sixth.  Those  who  will  not  do  this  fundamental  work, 
may  go  on  with  their  classes,  but  without  certificates,  or 
honourable  mention. 

Seventh.  The  superintendents  of  these  four  depart- 
ments should  endeavour  to  enlist  the  cooperation  of  all 
their  teachers  in  this  work. 

Eighth.  The  teachers  are  asked  to  take  this  up  with 
enthusiasm  and  earnestness,  and  encourage  their  scholars 
to  do  the  work  thoroughly. 

Ninth.  It  will  be  well  to  encourage  the  scholars  to 
do  this  work  at  home,  and  then  recite  to  the  teachers  at  a 
convenient  time.  Scholars  who  satisfactorily  complete 
three-fourths  of  the  work  will  be  passed  with  honour  and 
receive  their  cards  and  certificates. 

Tenth.  At  the  close  of  each  year,  teachers  will  kindly 
hand  to  the  superintendents  of  departments  the  names 
of  all  scholars  who  have  satisfactorily  completed  the  work 
and  who  are  thus  entitled  to  the  cards  and  certificates  of 
promotion. 


196       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

Finally.  Failure  on  the  part  of  department  superin- 
tendents or  teachers  to  take  up  this  work  with  earnest- 
ness and  perseverance  will  cause  great  injustice  to  the 
scholars,  besides  depriving  them  of  some  most  valuable 
Bible  information.  We  must  look  especially  to  the 
teachers  for  the  success  of  this  fundamental  course. 


n  > 


XIX 

TEMPERANCE  DAY  AND  HOW  TO  USE  IT 

Four  times  a  year  we  have  a  temperance  lesson  and  to 
many  superintendents  Temperance  Day  is  a  bugbear. 
This  however  is  usually  because  there  has  been  no  prep- 
aration for  it.  It  has  not  been  anticipated  far  enough 
in  advance. 

Always  have  a  plan  for  Temperance  Day,  and  the  day 
will  soon  become  one  of  the  most  interesting  in  the 
quarter.  Do  not  wait,  however,  until  Temperance  Sun- 
day to  begin  teaching  temperance.  We  should  keep  our 
eyes  open  continually,  and  use  temperance  illustrations 
whenever  appropriate,  whether  in  the  lesson  or  not,  pro- 
vided they  do  not  interfere  with  the  lesson  of  the  day. 
One  who  is  looking  for  temperance  illustrations  will  find 
plenty  of  them.  Our  purpose  in  this  chapter  is  to  sug- 
gest ways  in  which  Temperance  Sunday  may  be  ob- 
served in  the  Sunday-school. 

1.  Conduct  the  school  in  the  usual  way,  using  the 
temperance  lesson  assigned,  together  with  appropriate 
music  and  remarks  in  the  opening  and  closing  exercises. 
This  is  perhaps  the  most  common  way  of  observing 
Temperance  Day. 

2.  Have  appropriate  opening  and  closing  exercises, 
using  the  regular  temperance  lesson  of  the  day,  but  have 
it  taught  from  the  platform  to  the  whole  school  by  one 

197 


Ig8       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

competent  teacher.  The  changing  of  the  regular  exer- 
cises of  the  school  will  of  itself  attract  attention  to  the 
fact  that  there  is  something  unusual  for  that  day. 

3.  Open  with  appropriate  general  exercises  ;  but,  in- 
stead of  teaching  the  lesson,  have  an  address  by  some 
strong  temperance  specialist.  The  school  may  be  closed 
in  the  usual  manner. 

4.  Instead  of  the  regular  exercises  of  the  school  use 
one  of  the  specially  prepared  temperance  exercises,  to 
be  had  of  the  supply  and  denominational  houses,  the 
Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  and  other  sources. 
"  A  Boy  in  the  Bible  and  Another  Boy,"  by  Mrs.  Stevens, 
is  capital,  and  there  are  many  others  of  great  value. 
These  exercises  give  us  a  world-wide  view  of  the  temper- 
ance subject.  They  enable  us  to  study  it  from  the  broad 
view-point  instead  of  the  narrow  one.  You  may  ask  the 
boys  and  girls  to  sign  the  pledge  ;  but  you  ought  to  get 
them  to  realize  the  position  they  occupy  in  relation  to  the 
whole  world,  and  teach  them  that  it  will  be  not  only  a 
benefit  to  them  personally,  but  to  the  world  itself.  Refer- 
ence should  often  be  made  in  the  Sunday-school  to  the 
temperance  movements  of  the  world.  Tell  the  story  of 
how  our  own  congress  passed  a  law  prohibiting  the  sale 
of  firearms  and  liquor  in  the  New  Hebrides,  greatly  to 
the  joy  of  the  old  missionary  John  G.  Paton ;  tell  how 
his  heart  was  breaking  because  his  forty  years  of  work 
there  was  being  destroyed  by  the  importation  of  drink 
from  our  own  country,  though  England  had  repeatedly 
refused  to  sell  it  to  them.  There  is  a  leaflet  published 
by  Congress  which  is  an  extract  from  a  speech  by  Sena- 
tor Gallinger,  wherein  is  given  the  testimony  of  many 
physicians  on  the  effects  of  beer.     These  leaflets  may  be 


Temperance  Day  and  How  to  Use  It     199 

licid  for  the  asking  from  your  member  of  Congress. 
They  may  be  used  with  good  effect  on  temperance 
day. 

It  is  interesting  to  know  of  what  is  called  the  "  Zone 
de  Prohibition  "  in  Africa,  where  sixteen  nations,  in  a 
vast  territory  reaching  from  one  sea  to  the  other,  have 
banded  together  to  protect  the  people  from  alcohol. 

5.  Use  the  Temperance  Pledge  Card.  I  am  aware 
there  are  some  who  do  not  believe  in  pledges  ;  I  do. 
The  positive  pledge,  however,  is  preferable  to  the  nega- 
tive one.  Instead  of  asking  the  scholars  not  to  do  a 
thing,  ask  them  to  do  something.  It  is  a  good  thing  for 
anybody  to  sign  a  card  which  says,  "  I  will  not  be  a 
drunkard  "  ;  it  is  a  great  deal  better  to  sign  a  card  which 
says,  "  I  will  do  all  I  can  to  keep  myself  and  others  from 
being  drunkards."  One  of  the  pledges  which  has  been 
greatly  blessed  is  called  "  A  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence." Its  wording  is  as  follows  : — "  For  love  of  Christ 
and  country  I  hereby  make  my  declaration  of  independ- 
ence against  King  Alcohol ;  I  pledge  myself  never  to  use 
intoxicating  liquor  as  a  drink,  and  I  promise  to  do  all  I 
can  to  end  the  drink  habit  and  the  liquor  traffic."  The 
original  of  this  pledge  was  painted  in  St.  Louis  by  a 
drinking  man,  and  he  was  the  first  one  to  sign  the  pledge 
containing  these  words.  It  is  a  good  thing  to  have  a 
large  copy  of  the  pledge  hung  in  the  schoolroom. 

According  to  all  the  records  obtainable,  only  about 
500,000  of  the  12,000,000  or  more  Sunday-school  people 
in  the  United  States  have  signed  the  temperance  pledge — 
that  is,  only  one  in  tiventy-fonr .  We  recommend  that  the 
names  of  all  pledge  signers  be  kept  in  some  permanent 
form.     In  some  schools  the  pledge  cards  are  strung  to- 


200        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

gcther  with  coloured  ribbons  and  used  to  decorate  the 
room  on  temperance  day. 

6.  It  is  sometimes  desirable  to  have  a  union  rally  of 
the  schools  in  your  town  or  neighbourhood  on  the 
World's  Temperance  Sunday,  which  falls  in  November 
of  each  year.  At  that  time  it  is  well  to  have  some  good 
speakers  present.  The  schools  should  meet  en  masse  2.n<^ 
sing  appropriate  music  and  have  appropriate  exercises 
throughout.  These  meetings  create  a  large  interest.  I 
would  not  recommend  them  every  quarter,  but  certainly 
on  the  annual  temperance  day  this  method  might  be  used 
with  profit.  In  one  such  meeting  there  were  four  men 
who  spoke.  The  first  was  a  merchant ;  the  second  a 
judge ;  the  third  a  physician ;  the  fourth  a  coroner. 
They  each  laid  stress  upon  the  importance  of  total  absti- 
nence from  different  standpoints  ;  the  industrial,  the  crim- 
inal, the  hygienic  and  medical,  while  the  coroner  referred 
to  many  whose  bodies  came  to  him  as  the  result  of  in- 
temperance. 

7.  Personal  illustrations  are  sometimes  very  helpful  ; 
but  they  should  be  used  with  much  care.  One  superin- 
tendent of  whom  we  know,  made  a  very  effective  talk  in 
his  Sunday-school  on  "  Thirty-five  men  of  our  town 
whom  I  have  known."  He  spoke  of  thirty-five  men,  not 
by  name,  however,  telHng  how  one  after  the  other  went 
down  because  of  the  drink  habit.  There  are  times  when 
personal  applications  are  most  telling.  Nothing  is  more 
effective  than  a  timely,  local  illustration.  Seven  caskets 
lay  side  by  side  in  a  Baptist  church  in  our  city,  and  the 
minister  was  to  preach  the  funeral  sermons  of  seven  of 
his  own  young  people.  It  was  really  one  sermon.  These 
young  people  had  been  out  sailing  and  were  run  down 


Temperance  Day  and  How  to  Use  It    201 

by  a  tug  and  drowned.  Why  ?  Because  the  man  in 
charge  of  the  tug  was  drunk.  No  wise  superintendent 
would  allow  an  opportunity  like  this  to  go  by  without 
enforcing  the  temperance  lesson  with  this  awful  illustra- 
tion. Personal  illustrations  are  plentiful ;  the  papers  are 
full  of  them,  and  you  do  not  need  to  go  out  of  your  own 
locality  to  see  them  with  your  own  eyes. 

8.  It  is  sometimes  well  to  use  illustrations  which  ap- 
peal to  the  eye.  Large  numbers  of  these  are  available. 
Two  lines  may  be  drawn  on  the  blackboard,  one  repre- 
senting the  churches  and  another  representing  the  saloons, 
giving  a  certain  number  of  inches  to  each  church  or  saloon 
showing  their  numerical  relation  to  each  other.  There 
are  also  chemical  illustrations  which  are  helpful,  as  well 
as  pictures  showing  the  effects  of  alcohol  upon  the 
stomach,  etc.  One  of  the  best  devices  I  know  of  is  the 
following: — Use  different  coloured  ribbons  of  varying 
lengths  to  represent  the  amount  of  money  spent  annually 
for  different  purposes.  For  example,  the  annual  expen- 
diture in  the  United  States  for  the  various  items  named 
is  approximately  as  follows  : — 


Foreign  missionary  work ^7,500,000.00 

Chewing  gum 11,000,000.00 

Millinery 80,000,000.00 

Confectionery 178,000,000.00 

Home  church  work 250,000,000.00 

Bread 600,000,000.00 

Jewelry  and  Plate 700,000,000.00 

Tobacco 750,000,000.00 

Intoxicating  Drink 1,250,000,000.00 


If  the  ribbon  representing  the  first  item  is  made  an  inch 
in   length,  then  the  ribbon  representing   confectionery. 


202        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

for  instance,  would  be  about  twenty-four  inches  long, 
while  the  ribbon  representing  the  drink  bill  would  be 
nearly  fourteen  feet  long.  This  is  a  very  telling  illustra- 
tion when  properly  used.     Anybody  can  make  the  device. 

9.  Fix  your  temperance  teaching  in  song.  The  gen- 
eral exercises  of  the  school  can  be  changed  so  as  to  intro- 
duce a  number  of  temperance  songs.  As  a  rule,  one  will 
remember  a  song  longer  than  a  lesson  taught.  One  song 
well  selected  and  used,  not  once  alone  and  then  discarded, 
but  used  over  and  over  so  that  it  identifies  itself  with 
temperance  Sunday,  has  an  excellent  influence.  I  asked 
two  temperance  specialists  what  song  above  all  others 
they  would  recommend  for  such  use  ?  They  both  gave 
the  same  answer,  though  neither  knew  what  the  other 
had  said.  The  song  they  recommended  was,  "  Yield 
Not  to  Temptation."  "  Have  Courage,  My  Boy,  to 
Say, '  No ' "  is  also  a  good  song  for  such  purposes.  I 
remember  when  a  boy  learning  a  temperance  song  en- 
titled, "  The  Cold  Water  Army." 

10.  There  should  be  in  the  Sunday-school  library 
some  temperance  books,  well  chosen,  appropriate,  and 
selected  especially  for  scholars,  while  there  should  be 
others  especially  for  teachers.  The  teachers'  books  should 
be  rather  of  a  reference  character  so  that  illustrations 
may  be  secured  from  them.  One  excellent  book  of  this 
kind  is  entitled  "  Protection  of  Native  Races  Against 
Rum  and  Alcohol."  Many  other  good  books  might  be 
named. 

The  above  methods  of  observing  Temperance  Day  are 
given  as  suggestive  only.  It  is  desirable  to  have  variety 
and    not  to   observe  all  temperance  days   in   the  same 


Temperance  Day  and  How  to  Use  It     203 

fashion.  It  is  well  to  try  to  teach  temperance  in  your 
Sunday-school  so  that  the  boys  and  girls  themselves  may 
be  free  from  the  drink  habit ;  but  it  is  well  also  so  to 
instruct  the  school  that  it  may  become  a  great  power  to 
free  the  world  from  the  drink  habit.  Our  schools  have 
an  influence  over  those  in  legislative  authority  and 
should  not  be  slow  to  exercise  it.  Many  a  temperance 
measure  has  been  carried  because  the  churches  and 
Sunday-schools  set  about  it  to  bring  the  proper  pressure 
to  bear  upon  their  legislators. 

In  this  connection  the  cigarette  habit  should  also  be 
treated.  Not  long  ago  I  made  this  announcement  in  our 
own  school :  "  A  business  man  of  our  city  asked  me  to 
recommend  to  him  a  bright,  young  boy,  who  should 
enter  his  office  with  the  prospect  of  working  up  to  a 
secretaryship.  He  asked  me  if  we  had  such  a  boy  in  our 
school  ?  I  told  him  that  we  had  one  such  boy  that  I 
called  to  mind,  but  I  could  not  recommend  him  because 
he  was  a  cigarette  smoker."  It  is  well  to  call  attention 
to  the  closed  doors  of  factories,  and  business  houses  all 
over  the  country  where  cigarette  smokers  will  not  be 
employed.  Thousands  of  our  boys  are  ruining  them- 
selves with  these  "  coffin  nails,"  and  our  large  business 
concerns  are  saying  plainly  that  they  will  not  employ 
cigarette  smokers  in  any  capacity.  Several  states  have 
by  legislation  prohibited  their  sale.  On  the  following 
page  is  given  an  illustration  which  appeared  in  The  Sicn- 
day  School  Times,  and  is  used  with  their  permission, 
picturing  some  of  the  doors  which  are  closed  to  the 
cigarette  smoker.  The  article  referred  to  was  written  by 
Mrs.  Zillah  Foster  Stevens  of  St.  Louis. 


204       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

Some  of  the  Many  Doors  That  Are  Closed  To-day 
Against  Smokers  of  Cigarettes 


On  the  last  temperance  Sunday  the  writer  was  talking 
to  the  primary  children  of  his  school  urging  them  never 
to  take  the  first  drink.  Just  behind  him  sat  a  fine  look- 
ing man  with  a  kind  and  genial  face,  an  officer  in  that 
same  primary  department.  He  spoke  up  and  said : 
"  Tell  them  about  the  cigarette.  We  have  more  trouble 
with  children  smoking  cigarettes  than  from  any  other 
cause.  They  lead  to  all  that's  bad."  And  who  is  this 
man  and  why  this  caution  about  cigarettes  ?  He  is  at 
present  and  has  been  for  years  one  of  the  detectives  in 


Temperance  Day  and  How  to  Use  It    205 

the  employ  of  our  city.  He  knows  what  he  is  talking 
about.  Would  that  all  detectives  were  found  in  the 
Sunday-school,  and  would  that  all  of  us  were  doing  the 
valiant  work  for  God  that  this  same  detective  is  doing. 


XX 

DECISION  DAY 

Decision  Day  is  generally  understood  to  be  a  specific 
day  appointed  in  advance,  for  which  preparation  is  made, 
and  on  which  definite  efforts  are  put  forth  to  secure  de- 
cisions for  Christ  on  the  part  of  the  Sunday-school 
scholars.  Frequently  the  State  or  the  Provincial  Asso- 
ciation will  select  a  given  day  and  this  will  be  known 
everywhere  within  their  borders  as  Decision  Day.  At 
the  same  time,  of  course  any  school  is  at  liberty  to 
observe  Decision  Day  at  any  time  it  may  choose. 

That  there  is  great  need  of  securing  a  decision  for 
Christ  at  an  early  age  in  the  life  of  the  child  there  can  be 
no  doubt.  Speaking  generally  the  age  of  twenty  marks 
the  dead-line ;  if  the  children  are  not  brought  to  Christ 
before  that  time  the  chances  are  that  they  will  not  be 
brought  at  all. 

Objections.  There  are  those  who  object  to  Decision 
Day  for  various  reasons.  One  objection  is  that  its 
methods  are  too  mechanical.  This  is  an  objection  not 
altogether  without  foundation  and  it  should  receive  care- 
ful thought.  That  there  is  a  dangerous  tendency  towards 
mechanical  methods  no  one  can  doubt.  But  it  is  always 
easy  to  make  the  method  of  more  importance  than  the 
motive.  The  remedy  lies  largely  in  the  hands  of  the 
superintendent.  First,  he  should  not  postpone  all  efforts 
to  secure  immediate  decisions  because  there  is  a  Decision 

206 


Decision  Day  207 

Day  coming;  if  he  does,  the  chances  are  that  the  Decision 

Day  will  amount  to  very  little  when  it  does  come.  Then, 
in  the  program  and  conduct  of  the  day  he  must  see  that 
there  is  no  rattle  of  machinery.  There  should  be  rever- 
ence and  the  awe  of  dealing  with  souls.  The  sense  of 
eternity  should  subdue  the  movements  of  all  concerned. 
The  decision  must  be  aided  and  made  more  solemn  by 
the  program  and  the  method  followed. 

Another  objection  often  heard  is  that  every  day  should 
be  Decision  Day.  To  this  also  we  quite  agree.  But  is 
it  not  true  that  every  day  should  be  a  thanksgiving  day  ? 
Yet  we  are  not  prepared  to  drop  our  annual  Thanks- 
giving Day  from  the  calendar.  Those  who  make  this 
objection  are  generally  silenced  by  the  question,  "  Is 
every  day  Decision  Day  in  your  Sunday-school  ?  "  How- 
ever, we  do  well  ourselves  to  endeavour  to  answer  this 
question  in  the  affirmative,  whether  we  observe  Decision 
Day  or  not. 

A  Few  Suggestions.  /.  Do  not  make  rules.  What 
we  need  is  not  methods  but  men ;  not  rules,  but  hearts  set 
on  fire.  It  will  not  do  to  be  mechanical  in  our  methods  of 
soul-winning.  Not  all  are  to  be  reached  in  the  same 
manner.  The  influences  which  will  bring  one  to  a  decision 
will  have  no  effect  upon  another.  Not  all  of  our  scholars 
are  to  be  converted  in  the  same  manner.  Samuel  was 
dedicated  to  God  before  he  was  born ;  Peter  was  brought 
in  by  another;  Paul  was  suddenly  arrested  when  in  open 
and  violent  rebellion  against  God ;  Cornehus  was  saved 
in  answer  to  prayer ;  the  jailer  in  a  great  fright ;  and 
Timothy  came  to  Christ  as  a  boy  through  the  teaching 
of  a  godly  mother. 

2.     The  Personal  Element.     God  pays  a  premium  for 


2o8       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

the  hving  teacher.  The  gospel  enters  the  heart  not  so 
much  by  words  as  by  wedges  and  the  thin  edge  of  the 
wedge  is  a  life.  The  printed  page  is  good ;  but  the  liv- 
ing voice  is  better.  We  see  Philip  at  the  command  of 
God  hurrying  southward  to  join  himself  to  the  Ethiopian 
in  the  chariot.  The  traveller  is  reading  a  choice  portion 
of  God's  Word ;  but  he  needs  the  living  voice  of  a  liv- 
ing teacher.  Then,  it  should  be  remembered  that  the 
teacher  cannot  lead  scholars  into  experiences  with  which 
he  is  himself  unfamiliar. 

Before  Decision  Day.  If  a  particular  decision  day  is 
to  be  observed,  it  should  be  appointed  some  time  in  ad- 
vance. Much  depends  on  the  preparation  that  is  made 
in  the  intervening  period.  The  pastor  and  superintend- 
ent must  work  together.  It  would  be  well  to  call  the 
teachers  together  frequently  and  lay  before  them  your 
purposes  and  plans.  There  should  be  much  prayer  and 
instruction  while  the  burden  of  soul-winning  is  laid  upon 
the  hearts  of  the  teachers  to  the  fullest  extent  possible. 
Both  pastor  and  superintendent  should  explain  to  the 
teachers  the  best  methods  of  using  the  Bible  in  soul- 
winning.  It  would  be  well  for  the  teachers  to  read  such 
books  as  "  Spiritual  Life  in  the  Sunday-school,"  "  In- 
dividual Work  for  Individuals,"  etc.  A  proper  atmos- 
phere must  be  created  in  the  school.  Shortly  before  the 
day  arrives,  the  pastor  might  preach  a  sermon  on  the 
importance  of  early  decision,  especially  laying  upon  the 
hearts  of  the  parents  their  obligation  to  their  own  chil- 
dren in  this  regard.  Conditions  will  need  to  be  studied 
very  carefully.  The  teachers'  meeting  will  become  the 
place  of  conference  and  the  seat  of  power.  Indeed 
almost  everything,  so  far  as  human  agency  is  concerned, 


Decision  Day  209 

depends  upon  the  teacher  in  this  matter.  It  is  to  them 
a  great,  an  unusual  opportunity,  one  which  they  need 
to  be  helped  to  meet.  Let  the  teachers  take  unusual 
pains  to  get  close  to  their  scholars.  The  best  way  to 
do  this  is  by  a  personal  visit  in  which  they  may  express 
their  deep  interest  in  the  eternal  welfare  of  the  scholar. 
If  the  teacher  cannot  visit,  then  he  should  write ;  and  he 
can  always  pray.  The  teacher  who  is  himself  right  with 
God,  and  who  is  really  anxious  for  the  conversion  of  his 
scholars  will  have  the  best  success.  There  will  need  to 
be  much  heart  searching  and  possibly  repentance  on  the 
part  of  the  workers  themselves,  for  only  clean  vessels 
can  bear  the  messages  of  God.  Try  to  secure  decisions 
before  decision  day,  for  the  best  decision  day  is  one  on 
which  decisions  are  declared  rather  than  made.  Some 
have  even  suggested  the  changing  of  the  name  to 
"  Witnessing  Day." 

I  would  not  announce  decision  day  at  any  time  in  the 
Sunday-school,  Superintendent  and  teachers  should 
talk  a  great  deal  about  decisions,  but  not  much  about 
decision  day.  When  the  school  opens  the  scholars 
should  not  know  that  there  is  concerted  action  to  this 
particular  end  throughout  the  room ;  but  the  officers 
and  teachers  should  know ;  the  scholars  will  soon 
feel  it. 

On  Decision  Day.  If  possible  have  a  prayer  service 
before  the  beginning  of  the  school.  Open  the  school 
very  reverently  and  prayerfully,  avoiding  as  far  as  pos- 
sible all  items  of  business  and  anything  that  would 
distract  attention.  Let  the  music  be  especially  appropri- 
ate and  familiar.  Have  more  prayer  than  usual  in  the 
opening  exercises.     If  the  regular  lesson  of  the  day  is 


210        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

appropriate,  use  that ;  if  not,  use  something  else.  The 
services  should  be  cheerful,  yet  serious.  Pastor  and 
superintendent  might  both  speak  of  their  desire  that 
souls  should  be  saved.  Talk  plainly  and  lovingly. 
Give  the  teachers  ample  time  to  talk  with  their  scholars 
and  see  that  they  are  not  interrupted  on  any  account. 
The  teacher  should  have  large  faith  while  he  is  teaching 
— not  only  faith  in  God  but  faith  in  His  word  and  faith 
in  his  pupils.  One  reason  we  do  not  see  larger  results  is 
because  we  do  not  in  faith  expect  them. 

Do  not  use  wrong  motives.  Put  first  things  first.  Do 
not  give  the  scholars  the  impression  that  church  mem- 
bership is  the  end  of  all  your  work ;  it  is  good,  but  it  is 
not  the  most  important  thing.  What  we  wish  to  secure 
is  their  decision  for  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  then  all  of 
these  other  things  will  take  care  of  themselves.  Of 
course  we  wish  to  teach  towards  the  church ;  the 
scholars  when  converted  should  all  become  members 
of  the  church.  This  should  be  made  very  plain,  for 
it  is  very  important;  yet  it  is  not  the  first  thing  nor 
the  most  important.  If  a  decision  day  card  is  used, 
the  teacher  will  do  well  to  keep  the  signed  card  until 
the  following  Sunday,  giving  the  scholar  a  blank  card 
to  take  home  so  that  he  may  know  just  what  he  has 
signed.  On  the  following  Sunday,  if  the  scholar  is  still 
of  the  same  mind  and  willing  to  go  forward  with  his  pro- 
fession, the  card  may  be  surrendered  to  the  superintend- 
ent. 

It  ought  to  be  said  that  the  Sunday-school  class  is  not 
tlic  best  place  to  do  personal  work  for  Christ.  While 
many  are  reached  in  that  way  the  conditions  are  far  from 
the  best.     As  a  rule,  teacher  and  scholar  should  be  alone. 


Decision  Day  21 1 

The  teacher  should  seek  such  opportunities,  by  inviting 
the  scholars  to  his  home  one  at  a  time ;  or  calling  at 
their  homes,  or  meeting  them  elsewhere.  Many  a  soul 
has  been  won  for  God  by  an  earnest  word,  on  the  street, 
in  the  car,  across  the  counter,  but  not  usually  when  others 
are  present  listening  to  the  conversation. 

The  following  form  of  card  is  very  simple  and  has 
been  largely  used  by  Dr.  J.  Wilbur  Chapman  and  in 
many  Sunday-schools. 


ACKNOWLEDGMENT  CARD. 

I  do  acknowledge  Jesus  Christ  as  my 
Saviour. 

It  is  mv  honest  purpose  to  serve  Him  all 
my  life. 

Scholar's  Name 

Address 

Teacher's  Name 

Date Class  No 


At  the  close  of  the  lesson  period,  when  the  school  is 
reassembled,  after  the  singing  of  an  appropriate  hymn 
and  a  season  of  prayer,  have  testimonies  from  those  who 
have  decided  for  Christ,  and  then  words  from  the  teach- 
ers giving  their  experience.  Encourage  the  young  dis- 
ciples to  testify  for  Christ  at  every  opportunity.  The 
pastor  or  superintendent  should  refer  to  the  decisions 
that  have  been  made  giving  the  scholars  some  helpful 
instruction  as  to  how  to  put  in  practice  their  new  pro- 


212        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

fession.     This  is  one  of  the  most  important  features  of 
decision  day,  and  should  not  be  overlooked  or  neglected. 

After  Decision  Day.  Now  comes  the  real  work.  Al- 
most everything  depends  upon  the  teaching  and  training 
— the  shepherding  given  to  these  disciples.  It  will  be 
well  to  have  three  lists  of  the  names  of  those  who  have 
signed  decision  day  cards,  or  who  have  in  any  other  way 
made  their  decision  known.  One  list  should  be  given  to 
the  pastor,  another  to  the  superintendent  and  the  third 
kept  by  the  teacher.  Use  these  lists  in  a  systematic  ef- 
fort to  instruct,  train  and  lead  these  scholars  into  the 
kingdom  and  its  service.  Keep  very  close  to  them  ;  have 
disciples'  meetings  frequently.  This  is  a  choice  oppor- 
tunity for  the  pastor  to  give  much  needed  instruction. 
It  is  alarming  to  know  how  many  are  lost  to  the  church 
and  to  Christ  because  of  the  failure  at  this  point ;  failure 
to  give  timely  instruction  and  helpful  counsel. 

The  Use  of  the  Bible.  On  decision  day  and  on  every 
other  occasion  when  efforts  are  being  made  to  win  souls 
for  Christ  we  need  to  have  in  hand,  with  firm  grasp,  the 
"  sword  of  the  Spirit."  It  has  been  placed  in  our  hands  for 
this  purpose ;  but  how  clumsy  many  of  us  are  in  han- 
dling it.  The  following  arrangement  of  verses  in  dealing 
with  souls  has  been  greatly  blessed  in  the  past  and  we 
give  it  here  by  way  of  suggestion  to  our  readers.  They 
are  placed  in  proper  order. 

Romans  j :  2j.  For  all  have  sinned  and  come  short 
of  the  glory  of  God.  All  have  sinned ;  this  is  the  com- 
mon starting  point  and  the  next  step  cannot  be  taken 
until  this  condition  of  sin  is  realized  on  the  part  of  the 
scholar. 

Galatians  5  .•  ig-21.     Now  the  works  of  the  flesh  are 


Decision  Day  213 

manifest,  tvhich  are  these  ;  Adultery,  fornication^  unclean- 
ness,  lasciviousness,  idolatry,  witchcraft,  hatred,  variatice, 
emulations,  wrath,  strife,  seditions,  heresies,  envyings, 
murders,  drunkenness,  revellings,  and  such  like  :  of  the 
which  1  tell  you  before,  as  I  have  also  told  you  in  time 
past,  that  they  which  do  such  things  shall  7iot  inherit  the 
kingdom  of  God.  One  of  the  results  of  sin  is  that  it 
closes  the  gates  of  heaven.  None  who  do  these  things 
enumerated  have  any  part  there. 

Acts  /J. :  12.  Neither  is  there  salvation  in  any  other ; 
for  there  is  none  other  name  under  heaven  given  among 
men,  whereby  we  must  be  saved.  Jesus  is  the  only  way 
of  escape  and  that  way  is  at  hand  and  always  ready. 

Jolin  6  :  jy.  All  that  the  Father  give th  Ale  shall  come 
to  Me  ;  and  him  that  cometh  to  Me  I  will  i?i  no  wise  cast 
out.  He  will  receive  any  who  come  to  Him.  There  are 
no  favouritisms  ;  all  have  an  equal  chance. 

Matthew  11 :  28.  Come  unto  Me,  all  ye  that  labour 
and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest.  Not  only 
will  all  be  received  who  come  to  Him,  but  He  urgently 
invites  all  to  come.  It  is  His  constant  attitude  towards 
us  ;  He  is  pleading  continually. 

2  Corinthians  6  :  2.  For  He  saith,  I  have  heard  thee 
in  a  time  accepted,  and  in  the  day  of  salvation  have  I 
succoured  thee  :  behold,  now  is  the  accepted  time  ;  beJiold, 
noiv  is  the  day  of  salvation. 

Hebreivs  4. :  y.  Again,  He  limiteth  a  certain  day,  say- 
ing in  David,  To-day,  after  so  long  a  time  ;  as  it  is  said, 
To-day  if  ye  will  hear  His  voice,  harden  not  your  hearts. 
He  wants  us  to  come  now,  to-day. 

Acts  16:  ji.  And  they  said,  Believe  on  the  Lord 
Jesus   Christ,  and  thou   shalt  be  saved,  and  thy  house. 


214   How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

This  tells  us  how  we  may  come  to  Him,  simply  by 
believing  in  His  name  and  surrendering  ourselves  fully 
to  Him. 

Many  souls  have  been  led  step  by  step  from  sin  into 
the  light  of  the  glorious  liberty  of  Jesus  Christ  by  the 
use  of  these  verses  in  the  order  named.  There  are 
many  other  verses  and  passages  that  are  just  as  good 
and  possibly  better,  but  these  have  been  wonderfully 
blessed. 


XXI 

THE  BOYS'  MESSENGER  SERVICE 

The  boys  of  our  Sunday-schools,  if  wisely  directed, 
make  our  best  helpers.  They  are  full  of  life  and  energy, 
and  if  this  energy  is  properly  utilized,  it  means  much  for 
the  welfare  of  the  school  and  even  more  for  that  of  the 
boys.  The  messenger  service  has  come  to  be  one  of  the 
regular  features  of  the  organized  Sunday-school  work  in 
some  states.  The  boys  like  organization.  They  are 
just  at  that  age  where  the  "  clan  "  or  "  gang  "  spirit  is 
strongest,  and  all  that  is  needed  is  careful  direction  on 
the  part  of  a  competent  manager  who  is  a  friend  of  boys. 
The  benefits  of  such  an  organization  among  the  boys  are 
many.  It  holds  them  in  the  Sunday-school  and  trains 
them  for  more  important  work  in  later  years.  The  boys 
soon  come  to  feel  that  they  are  doing  something  worth 
while.  They  become  feet  and  hands  for  the  pastor  and 
superintendent.  The  service  they  can  render  is  almost 
unlimited ;  perhaps  the  most  important  is  that  of  carry- 
ing messages  to  absent  scholars.  They  can  also  distrib- 
ute printed  matter  from  house  to  house;  carry  invita- 
tions to  residences  and  offices,  and  deliver  the  home- 
department  quarterlies  and  other  printed  matter.  In  our 
Sunday-school  the  boys  are  called  Messenger  Cadets. 
They  are  organized  with  the  following  officers :  — 
A  Commander.  This  is  always  the  superintendent  of 
the  Sunday-school, 

215 


2l6       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

A  Vice-Commander.  This  is  some  associate,  really 
appointed  by  the  superintendent,  though  elected  by  the 
boys  themselves.  He  meets  with  the  boys  every  time 
they  meet  and  has  general  direction  over  them. 

Then  they  have  a  president,  vice-president,  secretary 
and  treasurer,  elected  from  among  the  boys.  Their  duties 
are  those  usual  to  such  offices. 

They  also  have  a  captain  and  a  lieutenant  who  direct 
the  boys  in  their  field  work  while  they  are  delivering 
messages.  Below  is  given  the  outline  of  what  is  known 
as  "  The  Messenger  Cadet  Red  Book."  Every  boy  has  a 
copy  of  the  red  book  and  must  become  famihar  with  its 
contents  and  comply  with  its  requirements. 


Messenger  Cadet  Red  Book 

^^  ^ 

1.  Q.     What  is  a  Messenger? 

A.     A    Messenger   is   one  who   has  received  a 
Message. 

2.  Q.     What  is  he  to  do  with  his  Message  ? 

A.     He  is  to  carry  the  Message  to  the  person  to 
whom  it  is  directed. 

3.  Q.     How  should  a  Messenger  go  with  his  Mes- 

sage ? 
A.     He  should  go  in  haste  and  not  stop  to  talk 
with  any  one  on  the  way. 


V 

u 


The  Boys'  Messenger  Service  217 

4.  Q.     How  should  he  present  his  Message  ? 

A.     He  should  present  his  Message  politely,  with 
his  cap  in  his  hand. 

5.  Q.     What  should  he  do  after  dehvering  his  Mes- 

sage ? 
A.     He  should  ask  for  a  Reply  and  wait  for  it. 

6.  Q.     When  he  receives  the  Reply,  what  should  he 

say  ? 
A.     He  should  say :    "  I  thank  you." 

7.  Q.  If  no  one  is  at  home,  what  should  he  do  ? 
A.  He  should  fill  out  a  Service  Slip,  put  it  in- 
side the  Message  and  put  both,  with  an 
envelope  addressed  to  the  Superintendent, 
in  the  Mail-box  or  under  the  Door.  Then 
he  should  write  on  the  Carrier-envelope  : 
"  Not  at  Home." 

8.  Q.     If  he  cannot  get  a  Reply  at  once,  what  should 

he  say  ? 
A.  He  should  say :  "  Shall  I  call  again,  or  will 
you  mail  your  Reply  to  our  Superintend- 
ent ?  "  If  the  person  prefers  to  mail  it, 
leave  an  envelope  addressed  to  the  Su- 
perintendent, and  write  on  the  Carrier- 
envelope  :    "  Will  mail  reply." 

9.  Q.     If  the  person  has  moved,  what  should  the 

Messenger  do  ? 
A.     He  should  try  to  find  out  from  the  neigh- 
bours the  new  address  and  write  on  the 

Carrier-envelope :     "  Moved    to ." 

If  the  new  location  is  in  his  district  he 
should  deliver  the  Message. 


2l8       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

10.  Q.     If  a  Messenger  is  sick  or  for  any  reason  can- 

not take  his  Messages  on  Sunday,  what 
should  he  do  ? 
A.     As  soon  as  he  knows  he  cannot  be  present 
he  should  inform  the  Superintendent,  so 
some  one  else  can  take  his  place. 

11.  Q.     If  a  Messenger  is  absent  for  two  Sundays 

without  a  good  excuse,  what  should  he  do  ? 
A.  He  forfeits  his  membership,  and  should  send 
in  his  cap  and  badge,  and  all  supplies,  so 
that  another  boy  can  take  his  place  who 
can  be  depended  on  like  a  good  soldier. 

12.  Q.     What    other    duties    have    the    Messenger 

Cadets  ? 
A.  They  should  attend,  if  possible,  all  regular 
and  called  meetings,  and  at  the  end  of 
each  quarter  assist  in  distributing  the 
Home  Department  Supplies  under  the 
direction  of  the  Superintendent  of  that 
department. 

1 3.  Q.     What  should  a  Messenger  be  ? 

A.     He  should  be  a  gentleman  everywhere  and 
always.     He  should  not  use  tobacco  nor 
bad  language.     He  should  always  remem- 
ber our  Messenger  Cadet  motto : 
"  Go— I  Am  ^A^ith  You." 


The  message  delivered  to  absent  scholars  is  printed  in 
the  form  of  a  regular  telegraph  message  and  is  as 
follows : — 


The  Boys'  Messenger  Service 


219 


mi 

08 


«  "^ 


220       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

Attached  to  one  end  of  this  message,  though  perforated 
for  the  purpose  of  tearing  off,  is  a  slip  with  a  place  for 
the  name  of  the  absent  scholar,  and  on  the  back  of  the 
same  sHp  a  place  for  the  absent  scholar  to  indicate  the 
reason  for  his  absence.  When  the  message  is  folded 
ready  to  deliver,  it  appears  as  in  figure  i  below. 

MESSAGE 


NAME 

ADDRESS 

CLASS DEPARTMENT.. 


DATE. 

Kindly  fill  out  back  of  above  slip,  then  detach  it,  and  return 
it  by  the  Messenger  or  by  mail.  (Marion  Lawrance,  429 
Hicks  Street.) 

Figure  i. 


The  slip  signed  and  returned  by  the  absent  scholar  to  the 
messenger  boy  reads  as  in  figure  2. 

TO  THE  SUPERINTENDENT 


The  cause  of  my  absence  was  : 

I  will  be  present  next  Sunday  if  possible. 
NAME... 

Figure  z. 


The  Boys'  Messenger  Service  221 

When  the  cadet  calls  at  the  home  of  the  absent  scholar 
and  there  is  no  one  at  home,  he  puts  the  "  Service  Slip  " 
(figure  3)  under  the  door  or  in  the  mail-box. 

MESSENGER  CADET  SERVICE  SLIP 


Dear  Friend : — 

As  a  Messenger  Cadet,  I  called  at  your 
house  to-day  with  a  message,  which  I  leave,  as 
I  am  unable  to  see  you.  Will  you  kindly  fill 
out  the  blanks  as  requested  and  mail  to  our 
superintendent,  using  the  addressed  envelope, 
or  if  you  prefer  me  to  call  again  for  it,  please 
let  me  know  and  oblige. 

Yours  for  the  Sunday  School, 


.Messenger  Cadet 


No Street 

Figure  3. 

The  boys  meet  in  the  superintendent's  room  at  the 
church  on  the  afternoon  of  alternate  Sundays.  At  the 
close  of  Sunday-school  on  those  Sundays,  the  secretaries 
of  the  various  departments  address  the  messages  to  be 
delivered  to  absentees.  Teachers  indicate  beforehand  by 
a  check  mark  on  their  class  cards  the  scholars  to  whom 
they  wish  the  messages  sent. 

The  messages  from  each  department  are  gathered  by 
the  captain  and  lieutenant  of  the  cadets,  who  take  them 
home  and  between  that  time  and  the  hour  of  meeting  in 
the  afternoon,  arrange  them  in  convenient  routes,  placing 


222        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

together  those  of  one  locality  ready  for  one  boy  to  take. 
Each  cadet  is  given  enough  messages  to  keep  him  oc- 
cupied for  an  hour  or  an  hour  and  a  half.  His  messages 
are  placed  in  a  large  manilla  envelope  known  as  the 
"  Carrier  Envelope "  and  the  street  numbers  placed  in 
proper  order  on  the  outside  of  the  envelope  in  blanks 
left  for  that  purpose,  so  that  he  can  call  on  all  of  them 
in  the  shortest  space  of  time.  The  slips,  filled  out  and 
handed  back  to  the  cadet  by  the  absentees,  are  placed  in 
this  envelope.  On  the  outside  of  the  "  carrier  envelope  " 
the  cadets  write  such  items  of  information  as  "  not  at 
home,"  "  removed,"  "  quarantine,"  etc.  After  complet- 
ing their  rounds  the  cadets  take  their  "  carrier  envelopes  " 
back  to  the  church  and  drop  them  through  the  door  into 
a  mail-box  placed  there  for  that  purpose. 

In  the  evening  the  vice-commander  takes  these  en- 
velopes from  the  box  and  reviews  the  slips  sent  in  by 
the  absentees,  and  the  information  written  on  the  outside 
of  the  envelopes.  From  this  there  always  develops  some 
facts  which  should  be  reported  to  the  department  super- 
intendents, such,  for  instance,  as  wrong  addresses,  re- 
movals from  the  city,  unreported  sickness,  etc.,  etc.  The 
boys  are  supposed  while  on  duty  to  wear  white  caps 
with  the  words  "  Messenger  Cadets "  printed  on  the 
front.  They  also  have  buttons  with  the  initials  M.  C. 
upon  them.  They  are  often  pubhcly  recognized  in  some 
pleasing  way.  Occasionally  they  are  given  a  banquet. 
Then  again  some  special  music  or  a  short  interesting 
talk  is  given  to  them  at  regular  meeting  times  before 
they  take  up  their  "  business."  Their  meetings  are  con- 
ducted in  a  businesslike  way  and  devotional  exercises  are 
always  held,  led  by  the  commander  or  more  frequently 


The  Boys'  Messenger  Service  223 

by  the  vice-commander.  When  the  meeting  adjourns 
and  they  are  all  ready  to  start  upon  their  errands  they 
repeat  together  their  motto, 

"  GO— I  AM  WITH  YOU." 

The  boys  like  the  work  and  take  great  interest  in  it. 
They  do  good  and  they  get  more  good.  Some  day 
many  of  them  will  occupy  important  positions  in  the 
church.     They  are  training  for  that  now. 


XXII 
THAT  BIG  BOY  AND  HOW  TO  DEAL  WITH  HIM 

The  problem  of  the  big  boy  is  ever  present  with  us  ; 
it  is  not  settled  either  by  books  or  by  lectures.  Every 
boy  brings  his  own  problem  with  him  and  must  be  dealt 
with  individually.  Rules  are  good  by  way  of  suggestion  ; 
but  rules  which  are  made  in  the  study  are  often  revised 
when  we  come  into  the  living  presence  of  the  real  boy. 
The  boy  and  the  girl  are  both  alike  to  God ;  but  the  boy 
needs  our  greater  care  for  the  reason  that  he  is  earlier 
and  oftener  and  more  continually  out  from  under  the  in- 
fluences of  home  and  mother. 

Satan's  keenest  arrows  seem  to  be  directed  against  the 
boy.  The  liquor  dealers'  association  in  one  of  our  central 
states  employed  a  man  at  a  good  salary  (I  am  informed), 
to  distribute  brandy  drops  to  the  boys  as  they  came  out 
of  the  public  schools  in  order  to  create  an  appetite  for 
drink.  A  saloon-keeper  was  discovered  sprinkling  the 
sidewalk  with  sawdust  and  then  sprinkling  the  sawdust 
with  beer.  When  asked  the  purpose  of  this  he  said, 
"  The  boys  from  school  will  be  passing  here  presently.  I 
want  to  make  customers  out  of  them  by  getting  them  used 
to  the  smell  of  beer."  The  boys  are  thrown  with  bad 
men  whose  language  is  often  foul.  They  are  given  bad 
books  to  read  and  shown  obscene  pictures,  all  calculated 
to  stain  their  boyish  innocency  and  make  them  bad. 
The  gauntlet  through  which  the  boys  must  run  if  they 

224 


That  Big  Boy  and  How  to  Deal  With  Him  225 

are    to    become    honourable   men   is   terrible   to   con- 
template. 

In  a  convention  of  hquor  dealers  in  Ohio  one  speaker 
concluded  his  address  with  these  words :  "  The  success 
of  our  business  is  dependent  largely  upon  the  creation  of 
appetite  for  drink.  Men  who  drink  Hquor,  like  others, 
will  die  and  if  there  is  no  new  appetite  created  our  coun- 
ters will  be  as  empty  as  our  coffers.  Our  children  must 
go  hungry  or  we  must  change  our  business  to  that  of 
some  other  more  remunerative.  The  open  field  for  the 
creation  of  appetite  is  among  the  boys.  After  men  have 
grown  and  their  habits  are  formed,  they  rarely  ever 
change  in  this  regard.  It  will  be  needful  therefore  that 
missionary  work  be  done  among  the  boys,  and  I  make  a 
suggestion,  gentlemen,  that  nickels  expended  in  treats 
for  the  boys  now  will  return  in  dollars  to  your  tills  after 
the  appetite  has  been  formed.     Above  all  things  create 

APPETITE." 

A  young  man  about  eighteen  years  of  age  committed 
suicide  in  a  drunken  brawl.  Two  hundred  mothers  went 
to  look  at  his  body,  each  to  see  if  it  was  her  boy.  Most 
of  the  criminals  in  our  penal  institutions  enter  there  as 
boys  and  young  men  between  eighteen  and  twenty- 
three. 

These  pictures  are  terrible  to  look  upon ;  but  the 
stream  of  woe  will  continue  to  flow  on  until  Sunday- 
school  workers  and  Christian  men  and  women  are 
aroused  to  the  importance  of  saving  the  boys. 

The  Sunday-school  has  an  important  part  in  this 
matter.  The  warden  of  one  of  our  penitentiaries  said 
the  other  day,  "  There  are  nine  hundred  and  four  boys 
and  men  in  our  penitentiary.     All  are  asked  the  same 


226       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

questions  when  they  are  received.  Ten  of  this  number 
said  they  had  attended  Sunday-school  regularly ;  eighty- 
five  said  they  had  attended  irregularly  and  eight  hundred 
and  nine  said  they  never  went  to  Sunday-school." 

Captain  Steele,  a  police  captain  of  New  York  City, 
said  some  time  ago,  "  In  twenty-five  years  I  have  never 
had  a  man  or  woman  brought  before  me  for  trial  that  I 
did  not  ask  the  question, '  Do  you  attend  Sunday-school  ? ' 
Not  one  had  attended  Sunday-school  regularly.  If  I  could 
get  the  parents  of  America  to  keep  their  children  in  Sun- 
day-school regularly  until  fifteen  years  of  age,  I  believe 
they  could  be  saved." 

W.  A.  Hillis,  superintendent  of  the  American  Sunday 
School  Union  for  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Michigan,  gives  this 
testimony  :  "  In  my  work  of  nearly  eleven  years  in  twelve 
different  states,  I  have  found  but  ten  persons  who  were 
Christians  and  who  had  not  attended  Sunday-school  be- 
fore they  were  twelve  years  of  age ;  in  the  same  congre- 
gations I  have  found  more  than  ten  thousand  people  who 
were  Christians  that  attended  Sunday-school  before  they 
were  twelve  years  of  age." 

The  boys  are  not  in  the  Sunday-school  in  the  propor- 
tion they  ought  to  be.  Take  the  country  over,  we  pre- 
sume it  is  safe  to  say  that  in  the  Sunday-schools  there 
are  three  girls  of  the  "  teen  "  period  to  one  boy  in  the 
same  period.  Of  the  five-hundred-thousand  youth  of 
day-school  age  in  one  state  not  in  any  Sunday-school 
whatever  it  has  been  carefully  estimated  that  three-hun- 
dred-thousand of  them  are  boys  between  twelve  and 
twenty-one. 

There  must  be  a  reason  for  this.  Boys  will  go  where 
they  want  to  go.     It  is  not  difficult  to  secure  an  audience 


That  Big  Boy  and  How  to  Deal  With  Him  227 

of  boys  at  a  baseball  game.  Perhaps  we  could  learn 
some  lessons  for  our  Sunday-school  work  from  the  base- 
ball game.  Certainly  the  players  are  all  in  earnest  and 
are  all  specially  trained  for  the  position  they  occupy. 
They  throw  themselves  into  their  work  with  all  the  vigour 
they  possess  and  the  boys  who  are  looking  on  understand 
the  game. 

Parents  are  partly  to  blame  for  the  absence  of  the  boys 
from  our  Sunday-schools^  This  is  especially  true  of  the 
fathers.  The  best  way  of  which  I  know  to  hold  big  boys 
in  the  Sunday-school  is  to  build  a  wall  of  fathers  between 
them  and  the  door. 

Church  members  are  also  to  blame  in  a  large  measure. 
Statistics  show  that,  taking  the  country  as  a  v/hole,  only 
about  one  church  member  in  five  is  a  regular  attendant 
at  the  Sunday-school.  No  wonder  the  big  boys  get  an 
idea  that  it  is  not  the  place  for  them  when  they  do  not 
see  there  the  men  with  whom  they  are  acquainted.  If 
our  Sunday-schools  presented  the  continuous  and  whole- 
some picture  of  large  classes  of  men  and  women,  in  regu- 
lar attendance,  including  the  very  cream  of  the  com- 
munity, the  boys  would  get  no  such  idea  as  they  have 
to-day  concerning  them. 

Then  the  superintendents  are  sometimes  at  fault. 
Many  of  them  conduct  their  Sunday-schools  as  if  all 
the  people  present  were  children.  They  address  the 
Sunday-school  as  "  Dear  Children "  forgetting  for  the 
time  being  that  the  young  lad  who  has  put  on  long 
pants  and  begun  to  rub  his  upper  lip  is  no  longer  a  child. 
Many  of  these  big  boys  are  talked  out  and  sung  out  of 
the  Sunday-school  by  baby-talk  and  baby-songs.  It  is  a 
mistake  to  give  "  pipe-organ  talk  "  to  adults  and  "  Jew's- 


228        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

harp  talk  "  to  boys.  It  is  all  right  to  be  diildlike  ;  it  is 
all  wrong  to  be  childish  in  the  Sunday-school. 

The  big  boys  can  be  brought  into  Sunday-school. 
There  are  hundreds  of  Sunday-schools  all  over  this 
country,  representing  city,  town,  village  and  country, 
where  may  be  found  more  boys  than  girls.  This  is  not 
usually  the  case,  however,  and  when  it  is  the  case  there 
is  always  an  adequate  reason  for  it. 

The  superintendent  of  one  such  school  when  asked  the 
secret  of  his  success  simply  said,  "  Go  after  them  "  ;  a 
pastor  of  such  a  school  in  New  Jersey  when  asked  the 
same  question  by  the  writer  said,  "  Make  them  know  you 
want  them."  Dr.  Peloubet,  the  lesson-help  writer,  says, 
the  remedy  is  to  "  Have  a  good  meal  ready  when  you 
ring  the  bell."  Others  who  have  made  a  success  along 
this  line  give  us  these  suggestions :  "  Make  them  wel- 
come " ;  "  Send  the  big  boys  after  big  boys  " ;  "  Treat 
them  like  men " ;  "  Make  the  school  worth  while "  ; 
"  Make  it  a  business  to  get  them  " ;  "  Make  the  school 
hard  to  get  into." 

The  old  saying,  "  Put  the  cookies  on  the  lower  shelf" 
savours  a  good  deal  of  antiquity,  but  not  a  great  deal  of 
common  sense.  When  I  was  a  boy  the  cookies  I 
wanted  most  of  all  were  those  that  I  had  to  cHmb  on  a 
chair  to  get.  There  is  a  principle  here  we  have  been  for- 
getting in  our  Sunday-school  work.  The  more  of  honest 
endeavour  we  require  on  the  part  of  our  Sunday-school 
scholars  the  more  anxious  others  will  be  to  join.  It  is 
natural  to  want  to  belong  to  something  that  is  worth 
while.  Those  who  desire  to  make  a  success  in  securing 
and  holding  the  boys  will  find  that  it  lies  in  the  direction 
of  the  following  suggestions  :  — 


That  Big  Boy  and  How  to  Deal  With  Him  229 

1.  Go  after  the  boys  systematically;  make  it  a  busi- 
ness. 

2.  Go  after  the  boys  personally.  Nothing  can  equal 
a  personal  invitation.  Printed  matter  is  good.  A  one- 
cent  circular  has  its  value ;  but  it  plainly  says,  "  I  am  not 
worth  two  cents." 

3.  Go  after  them  persistently ;  never  give  up.  Many 
a  scholar  has  been  secured  after  weeks,  and  sometimes 
months  of  continuous  effort. 

What  is  the  secret  of  success  in  securing  and  holding 
these  big  boys  ?  If  we  could  answer  this  question  satis- 
factorily to  our  readers,  we  should  be  very  happy.  There 
is  no  royal  road  to  success.  The  best  we  can  do  is  to 
offer  some  suggestions  which  have  been  found  very  help- 
ful in  this  regard. 

/.  Believe  in  Boys.  In  many  communities  all  the 
evil  that  is  done  is  laid  at  the  door  of  the  "  bad  boy." 
We  hear  very  much  about  the  "  bad  boy."  Every  Sun- 
day-school, every  community,  has  its  ''  bad  boy."  It  is 
enough  to  make  boys  bad  to  call  them  so  continually. 
One  of  the  reasons  why  they  are  bad  is  because  they  are 
not  always  given  the  same  amount  of  kind  consideration 
which  is  accorded  to  the  girls  of  the  same  homes.  We 
should  discriminate  between  boisterousness  and  mali- 
ciousness ;  between  animal  life  and  meanness.  Boys 
do  not  learn  to  do  evil  in  a  good  home.  There  are 
many  other  doors  open  for  him,  however,  and  if  his 
home  is  not  attractive,  he  will  find  these  doors  and  enter 
in.  The  following  poem  appeared  in  the  Boston  Iran- 
script  ancj  is  very  suggestive. 


230        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 
No  Place  for  the  Boys. 


What  can  a  boy  do,  and  where  can  a  boy  stay, 
If  he  is  always  told  to  get  out  of  the  way  ? 
He  cannot  sit  here,  and  he  must  not  stand  there. 
The  cushions  that  cover  that  fine  rocking-chair 
Were  put  there,  of  course,  to  be  seen  and  admired; 
A  boy  has  no  business  to  ever  be  tired. 
The  beautiful  roses  and  flowers  that  bloom 
On  the  floor  of  the  darkened  and  delicate  room, 
Are  made  not  to  walk  on — at  least,  not  by  boys ; 
The  house  is  no  place,  anyway,  for  their  noise. 

Yet  boys  must  walk  somewhere  ;  and  what  if  their  feet» 
Sent  out  of  our  houses,  sent  into  the  street. 
Should  step  round  the  corner  and  pause  at  the  door. 
Where  other  boys'  feet  have  paused  often  before ; 
Should  pass  through  the  gateway  of  glittering  light, 
Where  jokes  that  are  merry  and  songs  that  are  bright, 
Ring  out  a  warm  welcome  with  flattering  voice, 
And  temptingly  say,  "  Here's  a  place  for  the  boys." 
Ah,  what  if  they  should  ?     What  if  your  boy  or  mine 
Should  cross  o'er  the  threshold  which  marks  out  the  line 
'Twixt  virtue  and  vice,  'twixt  pureness  and  sin. 
And  leave  all  his  innocent  boyhood  within. 

O,  what  if  they  should,  because  you  and  I 

While  the  days  and  the  months  and  the  years  hurry  by. 

Are  too  busy  with  cares  and  with  life's  fleeting  joys 

To  make  round  our  hearthstone  a  place  for  the  boys  ? 

There's  a  place  for  the  boys.     They'll  find  it  somewhere ; 

And  if  our  own  homes  are  too  daintily  fair 

For  the  touch  of  their  fingers,  the  tread  of  their  feet. 

They'll  find  it,  and  find  it  alas  in  the  street, 

'Mid  the  gildings  of  sin  and  the  glitter  of  vice  ; 

And  with  heartaches  and  longings  we  pay  a  dear  price 

For  the  getting  of  gain  that  our  lifetime  employs. 

If  we  fail  to  provide  a  good  place  for  the  boys. 


That  Big  Boy  and  How  to  Deal  With  Him  231 

2.  Be  Interested  in  What  Boys  are  Interested  in. 
This  is  a  principle  which  appHes  alike  in  business,  in 
politics  and  in  religion.  If  you  desire  to  secure  the  in- 
terest of  anybody  the  quickest  and  best  way  is  to  mani- 
fest an  interest  in  that  in  which  he  is  interested.  A 
teacher  who  was  late  to  his  class  found  the  boys  busily 
engaged  talking  about  the  baseball  score  of  the  game 
the  day  before.  He  abruptly  and  peremptorily  quieted 
them,  saying  that  this  was  Sunday-school  and  not  a 
place  to  talk  baseball.  One  boy  said  to  his  neighbour, 
"  All  right,  if  he  don't  want  to  hear  baseball  we  don't 
want  to  hear  Bible  and  that  settles  it "  ;  and  it  did  settle 
it.  That  teacher  could  do  very  little  with  those  boys 
that  day.  He  should  have  talked  about  baseball  be- 
cause they  were  talking  about  it.  Had  he  manifested  an 
interest  in  the  game  and  thus  found  the  point  of  contact 
with  that  class,  he  could  have  done  a  great  deal  more 
good  than  by  following  the  course  he  did.  One  teacher 
of  whom  I  know  makes  a  business  of  watching  for 
articles  in  the  magazines  and  elsewhere  which  will  please 
his  boys.  That  l£ist  interesting  article  on  electricity  is 
passed  over  to  Charley  because  Charley  is  making  a  study 
of  that  subject.  Charley  will  attend  the  Sunday-school 
next  Sunday  and  listen  to  his  teacher.  The  principle 
applies  everywhere. 

J.  Give  the  Boys  Something  to  do.  A  healthy  boy 
must  be  busy.  If  his  energies  are  not  directed  in  proper 
channels  they  will  find  other  channels.  This  trait  of 
boyhood  is  ample  justification  for  class  organization.  It 
sets  before  the  boy  some  definite  object  to  be  attained, 
social,  physical,  literary  or  some  other  object.  Organized 
classes  are  multiplying  rapidly  in  all  parts  of  the  country 


232        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

and  especially  among  boys  and  young  men.  Some 
classes  are  even  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the  state 
in  which  they  are  located.  This  is  not  necessary,  but  it 
shows  to  what  extent  class  organization  has  been  carried. 
Some  classes  have  buildings  and  rooms  of  their  own,  also 
libraries,  reading  rooms,  savings  banks,  employment 
bureau,  insurance  departments,  etc.  Class  organization 
has  done  very  much  to  solve  the  problem  of  the  "  big 
boy  "  and  the  young  man  in  the  Sunday-school. 

.^.  Know  the  Boys  by  Najiie.  It  is  time  well  spent  to 
get  acquainted  with  the  boys.  A  teacher  who  knows  his 
boys  on  Sunday  and  fails  to  recognize  them  during  the 
week  and  in  their  working  clothes  will  have  little  in- 
fluence with  them.  One  of  the  keenest  rebukes  I  ever 
received  was  from  a  boy  in  our  own  school.  He  was 
delivering  groceries  and  I  did  not  recognize  him  as  I  ad- 
mitted him  to  the  back  door ;  I  had  only  seen  him  in  his 
Sunday  clothes.  There  was  quite  a  little  surprise  in  his 
tone,  if  not  in  his  words,  when  he  said,  "  Mr.  Lawrance, 
you  don't  know  me  ;  do  you  ?  "  Learn  to  put  faces  and 
names  together.  It  is  well  also  to  remember  that  boys 
are  not  very  fond  of  nicknames,  especially  childish  nick- 
names.    "  Bub  "  IS  an  abomination. 

5.  Don't  "Don't"  the  Boys.  Teach  positively  and 
not  negatively.  Instead  of  telling  a  boy  that  he  should 
not  read  the  book  he  is  reading  because  it  is  bad,  com- 
pliment him  because  he  loves  to  read  ;  then  recommend  a 
good  book  and  see  that  he  gets  it.  Too  many  of  us  are 
like  the  mother  who  said  to  her  servant,  "  Mary,  go  and 
see  what  the  children  are  doing  and  tell  them  they 
mustn't."     "  Johnny  Don't "  belongs  to  a  large  family. 

6.  Don't    Treat    All    Boys    Alike.     They    are    not 


That  Big  Boy  and  How  to  Deal  With  Him  233 

machines ;  each  has  his  peculiarities.  No  two  can  be 
reached  by  exactly  the  same  process.  One  needs  argu- 
ment ;  another,  persuasion ;  another,  many  words ;  and 
still  another  none.  Study  the  boys  as  a  farmer  studies 
his  soil  and  familiarize  yourself  with  their  pecuharities. 
A  mother  who  had  raised  seven  boys  was  asked  to  give 
her  method.  "  Why,"  said  she,  "  I  had  seven  methods." 
Every  Avise  mother  knows  just  what  this  meant. 

7.  Allozv  for  Animal  Spirits.  Boys  are  full  of  them. 
Instead  of  trying  to  cram  a  four-quart  boy  into  a  pint 
pot,  it  is  better  to  recognize  his  God-given  activity  and 
try  to  direct  it  into  proper  channels.  It  is  just  as  neces- 
sary for  him  to  be  active  as  it  is  for  him  to  eat.  They 
are  in  the  awkward  age ;  they  have  two  more  hands  and 
two  more  feet  than  they  know  what  to  do  with.  Do  not 
criticise  every  little  thing  they  do ;  and  don't  call  mis- 
chief meanness,  for  it  is  not  always  that.  I  sometimes 
think  teachers  of  boys  of  this  age  ought  to  have  one  blind 
eye. 

8.  Be  Tactful  with  the  Boys.  Tact  is  that  quality 
which  makes  one  master  of  the  situation.  It  is  some- 
thing like  that  quality  in  a  cat  which  makes  him  light  on 
his  feet  when  you  drop  him.  Tact  is  often  a  short  cut  to 
success  and  frequently  causes  the  teacher  to  leave  the 
path  he  had  marked  out  as  his  course  for  that  day  and 
start  to  cut  cross  lots.  This  is  justifiable  and  indeed  often 
necessary  in  order  to  reach  the  boys.  Tact  is  never 
intelligent  without  a  knowledge  of  the  scholar.  It  is  an 
art  worth  cultivating. 

p.  Keep  Close  to  the  Boys.  Be  a  friend  to  them ; 
remember  you  are  far  more  than  an  instructor.  Do  not 
make   the   lessons   a   whip   to   drive   them   with.     One 


234        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

teacher,  when  asked  the  secret  of  his  success  with  his 
boys,  says :  "  I  won  my  boys  by  taking  walks  with 
them."  Meet  them  during  the  week.  Be  interested  in 
their  every-day  affairs.  Go  to  their  homes,  or  stores,  or 
shops.  Invite  them  to  your  home  occasionally.  It  pays. 
Some  one  has  said,  "  There  is  more  grace  than  grease 
in  a  doughnut  if  given  to  the  scholar  in  the  teacher's 
home." 

10.  Give  These  Boys  Men  Teachers.  A  boy's  ideal  is 
a  man,  a  girl's  ideal  is  a  woman.  During  these  years 
when  character  is  being  solidified  and  habits  are  being 
fixed,  the  right  kind  of  a  man  as  teacher  can  do  more  for 
the  boys  than  a  woman  can.  Please  observe  I  said, — the 
right  kind  of  a  man  as  teacher.  Many  classes  of  boys 
have  lady  teachers  who  are  doing  infinitely  more  for 
them  than  many  men  could  do.  Some  of  the  most 
notable  organized  classes  of  young  men  in  the  country 
are  taught  by  women.  The  principle  holds,  however, 
that  other  things  being  equal,  it  is  better  to  have  a  man 
teacher  for  boys  in  the  "  teen  "  age.  The  reasons  for  this 
are  obvious. 

//.  Sympathize  zvith  the  Boys.  They  need  it.  They 
miss  it  when  it  is  withheld.  They  were  used  to  it  as 
little  children  and  they  long  for  it  as  big  boys,  but  they 
are  too  proud  to  admit  it.  Boys  of  this  age  are  not 
understood.  They  are  passing  through  physical  changes 
which  they  themselves  do  not  understand.  It  is  the  most 
sensitive  and  trying  period  in  their  lives.  Many  boys, 
and  girls,  too,  for  the  matter  of  that,  are  leading  lives  of 
sin  and  shame  for  the  lack  of  a  word  of  sympathy  at  this 
critical  time.  Benjamin  West,  the  great  painter,  drew  a 
crude  picture   upon  the  floor.     Many  a  mother  would 


That  Big  Boy  and  How  to  Deal  With  Him  235 

have  scolded  her  boy  for  marking  up  the  floor  in  that 
fashion,  but  his  mother  saw  the  embryo  artist  and 
pressing  a  kiss  upon  his  hps  commended  him  for  his 
drawing.  Many  years  afterwards  the  great  painter  said, 
"  My  mother's  kiss  made  me  a  painter." 

Many  a  boy  goes  out  in  the  back  yard  and  hugs  his 
pet  dog  because  his  mother  does  not  hug  him.  A 
beautiful  incident  is  told  in  connection  with  the  battle  of 
El  Caney  during  the  Spanish-American  War.  As  they 
were  entering  into  battle,  a  young,  smooth-faced,  girlish- 
looking  boy  about  eighteen  years  of  age  became  fright- 
ened, and  throwing  himself  upon  the  ground  began  to 
cry  like  a  child.  His  comrades  were  ashamed  of  him. 
Some  of  them  told  him  he  was  a  disgrace  to  the  uniform 
he  wore,  and  to  the  company  he  was  in.  He  confessed  it 
was  so,  but  said  he  could  not  help  it.  General  Chaffee 
came  riding  along  at  that  time  with  the  great  responsi- 
bility of  that  battle  upon  him ;  his  keen  eye,  however, 
observed  the  boy.  He  dismounted  and  asked  the  boy 
what  was  the  trouble.  The  boy  plainly  told  him  that  he 
was  afraid.  The  great  general  placed  his  hand  upon  his 
shoulder  saying,  "  Look  here,  my  lad,  I  see  a  good  soldier 
buttoned  up  in  that  jacket.  Get  up  and  take  your  gun 
and  fall  in  line  with  the  other  boys,  they'll  not  be  ashamed 
of  you  when  the  sun  goes  down."  The  boy  turned  and 
took  the  general  by  the  hand  and  thanked  him  for  his 
words  of  sympathy,  then  seized  his  gun,  found  his 
place,  and  held  it,  too.  It  is  said  that  when  the  battle 
was  over,  this  boy  was  found  still  firing,  using  but  one 
arm,  the  other  one  being  disabled  by  a  bullet  in  the 
shoulder.  It  was  the  word  of  sympathy  that  saved 
him. 


236       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

The  following  lines  from  Coventry  Patmore  are  very 
pathetic  and  significant. 


"  My  little  son,  who  looked  from  thoughtful  eyes, 
And  moved  and  spoke  in  quiet  grown-up  wise, 
Having  my  law  the  seventh  time  disobeyed, 
I  struck  him,  and  dismissed 
With  hard  words,  and  unkissed, — 
His  mother,  who  was  patient,  being  dead. 
Then,  fearing  lest  his  grief  should  hinder  sleep, 
I  visited  his  bed, 
But  found  him  slumbering  deep. 
With  darkened  eyelids,  and  their  lashes  yet 
From  his  late  sobbing  wet. 
And  I,  with  moan, 

Kissing  away  his  tears,  left  others  of  my  own  ; 
For,  on  a  table  drawn  beside  his  head. 
He  had  put,  within  his  reach, 
A  box  of  counters  and  a  red-veined  stone, 
A  piece  of  glass  abraded  by  the  beach. 
And  six  or  seven  shells, 
A  bottle  with  bluebells. 
And  two  French  copper  coins,  ranged  there  with 

careful  art, 
To  comfort  his  sad  heart." 

12.  Love  the  Boys.  Dr.  Charles  M.  Sheldon  said  re- 
cently, "  There  is  nothing  in  this  world  but  what  will 
yield  if  you  put  love  enough  into  it."  It  is  a  mistake  to 
try  to  get  into  a  boy's  heart  on  the  northeast  corner  where 
it  is  all  frozen  up.  There  is  a  sunny  side,  a  warm  side  to 
every  boy's  heart  and  nature  into  which  you  may  enter 
through  the  door  of  love  as  in  no  other  way.  The  goody- 
goody  style  of  life  is  repulsive  to  a  boy ;  but  genuine 
love,  showing  itself  in  helpful  interest,  is  always  appre- 
ciated.    A  teacher  who  really  loves  his  boys  in  this  man- 


That  Big  Boy  and  How  to  Deal  With  Him  237 

ner  will  soon  find  that  they  will  follow  him  anywhere. 
No  truer  words  were  ever  spoken  than  those  which  were 
recently  used  as  a  text  by  the  great  London  preacher, 
Mark  Guy  Pearse,  in  Saint  James  Church  in  Chicago. 
"  Do  you  know  the  world  is  dying  for  a  little  bit  of  love  ?  " 
Professor  E.  O.  Excell  heard  that  sermon  and  worked 
those  words  into  his  beautiful  song,  "  A  Little  Bit  of 
Love,"  a  song  that  every  worker  with  boys  ought  to 
know. 


APPENDIX  A 

A  SUPERINTENDENT'S  SUGGESTIONS  TO  HIMSELF 

He  is  a  wise  superintendent  who  keeps  a  note-book  and 
uses  it  for  the  purpose  of  entering  suggestions  which 
come  to  him  from  observation,  reading  and  contact  with 
other  workers,  concerning  various  phases  of  Sunday- 
school  work.  Many  of  these  suggestions  will  never  be 
used  ;  but  some  of  them  will.  The  following  suggestions 
have  been  gathered  from  many  sources.  Most  of  them 
have  been  successfully  used  in  our  own  school. 


The  fagot  fire  is  novel  and  interesting.  At  the  annual 
teachers'  meeting  held  the  last  week  in  September,  we  sit 
around  the  walls  of  the  lecture  room,  leaving  the  centre 
of  the  room  free.  It  is  sort  of  a  reunion  after  the  sum- 
mer holidays.  On  a  table  is  placed  a  metal  frame  with 
fire  in  it  or  under  it  so  that  anything  combustible  placed 
upon  it  will  burn  immediately.  Teachers  then  volun- 
tarily place  upon  the  fire  anything  they  choose  connected 
with  any  experience,  the  relation  of  which  will  interest 
those  present.  One  puts  on  a  letter,  another  a  twig,  an- 
other a  clipping,  giving  a  few  words  of  explanation.  At 
our  last  fagot  fire  the  pastor's  fagot  was  a  twig  he  plucked 
from  the  banks  of  Jordan.  Mine  was  a  flower  I  picked 
on  Mars  Hill.  One  lady  brought  a  few  heads  of  oats 
from  her  field  and  presented  to   the  school  ^8.70,  her 

238 


Appendix  A  239 

tithe  from  the  sale  of  the  oats.  Many  brought  leaves 
and  flowers  and  letters  and  twigs,  etc.  All  were  inter- 
esting and  in  some  way  referred  to  the  school  and  its 
work.  Miss  Eleanor  Kirby,  of  Indianapolis,  first  told  me 
of  the  fagot  fire. 


There  are  many  record  books  for  superintendents.  I 
have  had  the  best  satisfaction  in  using  a  blank  book. 
I  buy  a  two-hundred-page  record-ruled  book,  pocket 
size,  and  give  one  page  to  a  week.  At  the  extreme  top 
of  the  page  I  put,  in  red  ink,  first  the  attendance,  second 
the  offering,  third  the  attendance  at  teachers'  meeting  of 
the  corresponding  Sunday  of  the  previous  year.  Exactly 
below  these  I  enter  each  week  in  black  ink  the  figures 
for  the  current  year.  On  the  first  ruled  line  is  entered, 
"Week  ending  February  5,  1905,"  etc.  In  part  of  the 
book  pages  are  ruled  off  for  the  names  and  addresses  of 
all  officers  and  teachers. 


The  "  Nest  Egg "  seems  to  be  a  new  idea  in  some 
schools.  We  have  a  large  egg  about  a  foot  long  made 
of  wood  and  painted  to  look  like  a  hen's  egg.  It  is  hol- 
low and  has  a  hole  in  the  top.  The  church  building  fund 
for  our  present  house  was  started  in  this  egg  just  twenty 
years  ago,  and  it  is  now  in  use  for  a  similar  purpose  look- 
ing forward  to  a  new  "  Model  Sunday  School  building." 
A  certain  sum  of  money  is  put  into  it  every  week  in  the 
presence  of  the  school.  This,  with  the  prayer  which 
always  accompanies  it  keeps  the  matter  prominently  be- 
fore the  school. 


240       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

On  Rally  Day  two  years  ago  all  were  asked  to  bring 
cut  garden  flowers.  A  light  framework  in  the  shape  of 
a  cross  with  open  wire  screening  for  a  back  was  placed 
on  the  platform.  It  was  eight  feet  long.  The  foot  of 
the  cross  rested  on  the  floor  and  the  top  on  a  railing 
three  feet  high.  As  the  scholars  passed  by  the  platform 
in  procession  to  the  music  of  the  orchestra  they  tossed 
their  bouquets  upon  the  cross.  Others  arranged  the 
flowers.  It  was  a  most  beautiful  cross  when  completed 
and  cost  but  a  trifle. 


Announcements  which  are  always  made  in  the  same 
manner  and  practically  in  the  same  words  are,  for  the 
most  part,  a  waste  of  time  ;  it  is  possible  to  have  variety 
in  the  announcements.  Sometimes  it  works  well  to  have 
the  pastor  announce  the  preaching  service  ;  the  Christian 
Endeavour  president  the  Endeavour  service,  etc.  It  is 
better  not  to  call  them  "  announcements  "  at  all,  but  to 
refer  to  them  as, — "  The  opportunities  of  the  week," 
"  Some  important  things  that  are  going  on,"  etc. 


We  have  had  much  difficulty  in  maintaining  a  teacher- 
training  or  normal  class.  We  had  an  idea  that  teachers 
who  have  classes  should  take  a  normal  course.  This  re- 
quired an  extra  meeting  during  the  week,  which  was  dif- 
ficult to  secure.  Now  our  teacher-training  class  is  made 
up  of  prospective  teachers — young  people  who  are  look- 
ing forward  to  taking  up  the  teacher's  work.  It  meets 
at  the  Sunday-school  hour  and  is  a  success. 


Appendix  A  241 

A  good  object  lesson  to  present  to  the  school  may  be 
made  by  placing  upon  the  blackboard  or  a  chart  two 
rings  whose  relative  size  corresponds  to  the  size  of  the 
church  and  Sunday-school,  They  should  lap  over  each 
other  in  such  a  way  as  to  show  what  proportion  of  the 
church  is  in  the  Sunday-school.  Another  pair  of  rings 
showing  what  proportion  of  the  Sunday-school  is  in  the 
church  is  equally  effective. 


Have  some  variety  in  the  music.  Occasionally  have  a 
verse  read  before  it  is  sung.  Or  a  verse  may  be  sung  by 
one  voice  or  one  class,  or  one  department,  or  by  the 
boys,  or  by  the  girls,  etc.  Sometimes  the  effect  is  good 
to  have  all  sing  the  melody.  Sometimes  sing  a  verse 
without  the  instruments.  Some  choruses  are  pretty  re- 
peated softly  with  closed  lips,  simply  humming  the  tune. 
Have  variety. 


Some  schools  make  quarterly  reports  to  the  parents  of 
the  standing  of  the  scholars  in  the  matter  of  attendance, 
offering,  deportment,  etc.  There  are  two  sides  to  it. 
Parents  who  are  interested  sufficiently  to  care  much  will 
if  possible  attend  the  school.  Then  they  will  know  these 
things  without  being  told.  However  it  has  its  ad- 
vantages. 


"  Tulip  Sunday  "  was  the  name  given  to  our  Easter 
exercises  in  1900.  Tulips  and  flowers  were  brought  in 
pots  in  large  numbers  and  the  platform  was  filled  with 
them.     A  program  of  suitable  scripture,  appropriate  reci- 


242       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

tations  and  music  was  given.  The  tulips  were  taken  to 
the  sick  of  our  own  church  and  to  the  hospital.  Sim- 
ilarly on  another  Easter  we  had  a  "  Hyacinth  Sunday." 


I  find  a  loose-leaf  book  commonly  known  as  a  price 
book  the  best  thing  I  have  yet  used  for  my  Sunday  pro- 
grams. The  programs  are  written  out  in  full  before 
Sunday.  After  the  program  is  written  out  the  leaves 
can  be  placed  in  the  book  and  thus  kept  in  good  order 
and  always  clean.  It  is  a  good  thing  to  preserve  these 
programs  from  week  to  week. 


I  interested  one  class  of  boys  by  offering  to  start  for 
them  a  class-library  beginning  with  one  book  of  their 
own  selection.  A  second  book  is  to  be  added  when 
all  the  members  have  read  the  first  one,  and  so  on. 
They  selected  Ben  Hur  and  about  ten  of  the  boys  have 
read  it.  Am  looking  for  a  call  for  the  second  book  at 
any  time. 


We  find  a  church  and  school  paper  very  helpful.  For 
twenty-three  years  we  have  published  TJie  Helper.  It 
started  as  a  little  four-page  leaflet  but  it  is  now  a  twenty- 
page  magazine.  The  advertising  and  subscriptions  just 
about  carry  it.  It  is  an  invaluable  means  of  communica- 
tion between  the  pastor  and  superintendent  and  the 
church  and  school. 


It  is  a  good  thing  to  have  permanent  committees  on 
temperance,  missions,  etc.,  who  will  be  constantly  on  the 


Appendix  A  243 

lookout  for  something  good  for  the  program  on  temper- 
ance and  missionary  days,  which  they  will  suggest  in  ad- 
vance to  the  superintendent.  He  can  then  work  into  his 
program  such  suggestions  as  are  suitable. 


Any  school  which  is  financially  able  would  find  it  a 
good  investment  to  have  as  part  of  its  furniture  a  large 
globe,  say  two  feet  in  diameter.  If  the  mission  stations 
of  the  denomination  are  located  upon  it  the  school 
will  get  a  better  idea  where  they  are  than  in  any  other 
way. 


Occasionally  in  the  closing  exercises  of  the  school  it  is 
well  to  take  three  or  five  minutes  for  one  minute  per- 
sonal testimonies  concerning  Christ  and  the  Christian 
life.  Many  times  this  will  fix  the  truth  of  the  lesson 
better  than  anything  that  can  be  said  from  the  platform. 


We  find  it  pays  to  recognize  in  some  way  those  who 
do  the  best  home-study  work  on  the  lessons.  We  re- 
cently gave  the  little  book  "  The  Words  of  Jesus  "  to  the 
boy  and  girl  in  each  department  whose  work  on  the 
lessons  showed  up  the  best  as  indicated  on  their  written 
home-study  slips. 


We  have  upon  the  walls  of  our  room  the  photographs 
of  two  of  our  boys  who  lost  their  lives  in  the  Spanish- 
American  War.     We  should  also  place  there  the  photo- 


244        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

graph  of  any  member  of  the  school  who  lost  his  hfe 
in  trying  to  save  life ;  the  influence  upon  the  school  is 
good. 


The  superintendent  who  runs  too  far  ahead  of  the 
teachers  will  break  the  cord  that  binds  them  together. 
He  should  keep  close  to  his  teachers  ;  take  them  into  his 
counsel.  If  he  has  anything  new  to  suggest  talk  it  over 
with  the  teachers  before  presenting  it  to  the  school. 


We  offered  a  small,  cloth  bound  copy  of  the  Gospel  of 
John,  emphasized  edition,  to  any  member  of  the  school 
who  would  read  this  Gospel,  our  lessons  being  in  it  at 
that  time.  This  worked  well ;  we  gave  out  something 
like  five  hundred  copies  in  two  months. 


It  is  a  capital  idea  to  save  the  beautiful  pictures  of  the 
leaf-cluster,  and  use  them  to  paper  the  walls  of  your  mis- 
sion Sunday-school  building.  I  have  seen  walls  thus 
papered  and  they  were  constantly  preaching  many 
beautiful  though  silent  sermons. 


It  is  worth  while  to  make  a  continuous  and  systematic 
effort  to  secure  as  members  of  the  Sunday-school  all  the 
members  of  the  church.  We  have  not  succeeded,  but 
the  effort  we  have  made  has  brought  us  many  new  mem- 
bers and  we  are  keeping  at  it. 


Appendix  A  245 

We  have  found  that  it  pays  to  send  from  two  to  six 
delegates  regularly  to  our  annual  state  convention,  pay 
their  traveling  expenses  and  expect  them  to  make  a  re- 
port to  our  workers'  meeting.  It  stimulates  the  workers 
and  helps  the  school. 


Private  class-cards  are  good.  They  are  printed  on 
thin  paper  and  kept  by  the  teacher  in  his  Bible.  He 
thus  has  a  complete  mailing-list,  or  prayer-list  always  at 
hand  and  there  is  no  necessity  to  take  the  regular  class- 
card  from  the  school. 


It  is  a  good  thing  to  think  ahead.  On  January  ist, 
reserve  a  few  pages  of  your  diary,  heading  one  "  Easter," 
another  "  Children's  Day "  and  others  "  Rally  Day," 
"  Christmas,"  etc.  Then,  as  you  get  suggestions  through 
reading  and  other  sources,  make  note  of  them. 


When  the  members  of  the  teacher-training  class  gradu- 
ate, present  their  diplomas  to  them  in  pubhc  with  short 
appropriate  exercises.  It  is  an  honour  justly  deserved  by 
the  students  and  will  encourage  others  to  take  up  the 
training  course. 


Ground  glass  for  blackboards  is  being  used  by  some 
of  the  up-to-date  schools.  Though  a  dull  white  they 
take  white  chalk  beautifully.  They  may  be  had  of 
Sutphen  &  Myer,  Nos.  9,  1 1  and  15  Desbrosses  Street, 
New  York  City.     They  are  expensive  and  easily  broken. 


246       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

Small  cards  with  pressed  flowers  from  Palestine  pasted 
upon  them  make  beautiful  Christmas  and  New  Year 
presents  and  are  inexpensive.  The  small  ones  may  be 
had  for  two  cents  each  in  quantities. 


We  asked  our  members  to  hand  in  written  suggestions 
as  to  how  to  improv^e  our  Sunday-school.  Printed  slips 
were  given  out  for  the  purpose  and  we  received  many 
good,  helpful  suggestions.  It  makes  all  feel  that  they  are 
part  of  the  concern. 


Some  superintendents  occasionally  have  the  boys  and 
men  whistle  the  air  of  a  song  while  the  rest  sing  the 
words.  It  sounds  beautiful  when  well  done  ;  but  I  have 
been  afraid  to  try  it.  If  the  boys  make  nonsense  of  it, 
the  effect  is  bad. 


I  must  make  a  collection  of  articles  from  Palestine  to 
use  in  the  school  occasionally.  I  already  have  phylac- 
teries, a  tear-bottle,  a  piece  of  sackcloth,  a  cone  from 
the  cedars  of  Lebanon,  a  bottle  of  Jordan  water,  etc. 


The  preview  is  the  solution  of  the  review.  A  quarterly 
review,  for  which  preparation  has  been  made  from  the 
first  of  the  quarter  to  review  day,  will  be  a  delight  and 
very  profitable.  Lacking  this  preparation  in  advance  it 
is  a  bugbear  and  usually  a  failure. 


When  new  members  apply  for  admission,  especially  if 
they  are  children,  it  is  well  to  ascertain  whether  or  not 


Appendix  A  247 

they  are  leaving  another  school  to  join  yours.  If  they 
are,  it  is  better  to  look  into  the  matter  before  receiving 
them. 


Where  the  Sunday-school  follows  the  church  service 
it  is  a  good  plan  to  have  officers  of  the  school  stationed 
at  the  ends  of  the  aisles  to  give  all  who  are  not  regular 
members  a  cordial  invitation  to  remain  for  the  Sunday- 
school. 


A  number  of  the  Sunday-schools  of  Winnipeg  and  of 
Chicago  have  base-ball  clubs.  They  claim  it  helps  to 
hold  the  big  boys  and  young  men  in  the  summer.  No 
one  is  eligible  to  the  club  who  is  not  a  member  of  the 
school. 


It  works  well  to  emphasize  one  department  at  a  time. 
For  example,  suppose  you  try  to  get  the  whole  school 
interested  for  a  month  or  a  quarter  in  adding  members 
to  the  cradle  roll.     Then  take  another  department. 


By  all  means  have  some  systematic  method  of  filing 
clippings  so  they  can  always  be  found  when  needed.  It 
is  a  good  plan  to  file  with  these  clippings  cards  locating 
articles,  which  cannot  themselves  be  filed.  For  ex- 
ample :  "  First  Sunday-schools  in  the  United  States. 
See  Yale  Lectures,  pp.  122,  123." 


Many  schools  are  woefully  ignorant  of  the  missionary 
work  of  their  denomination.     We  superintendents  are  at 


248   How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

fault.  The  schools  ought  to  know  and  to  be  interested. 
Then  they  will  give.  "  No  information — no  inspira- 
tion." 


I  believe  one  of  the  best  things  we  do  in  our  Sunday- 
school  is  to  fix  choice  Scripture  passages  in  the  minds  of 
the  scholars.  These  passages,  in  future  years,  will  be 
found  helpful  in  times  of  temptation  and  sorrow. 


It  is  a  good  thing  for  the  superintendent  to  spend 
part  of  the  lesson-study  period  on  the  platform  whence 
he  can  study  the  school ;  it  enables  him  to  detect  the 
beginnings  of  disorder  and  to  note  the  weak  spots. 


If  the  school  is  supporting  a  boy  or  a  girl  in  the 
mission-field,  it  adds  greatly  to  the  interest  and  in- 
creases the  offerings  to  have  an  enlarged  picture  of 
that  person  displayed  in  the  Sunday-school  room. 


When  there  is  a  deep  spiritual  interest  in  the  school  it 
is  well  to  have  a  brief  informal  after-meeting  for  such  as 
wish  to  remain.  There  is  better  opportunity  for  personal 
work  there  than  in  the  class. 


Do  not  adopt  every  new  method  of  which  you  hear  at 
conventions.  Carefully  consider  every  new  method  pro- 
pobcd,  then  be  careful  to  adapt  before  you  adopt.  Intro- 
duce but  one  new  plan  at  a  time. 


Appendix  A  249 

The  endless  portable  blackboard — made  by  the  Ameri- 
can Blackboard  Company  of  St.  Louis — has  some  advan- 
tages over  other  kinds.  The  writing  can  always  be  at  the 
top  of  the  board  where  it  may  be  seen. 


Occasionally  have  all  the  real  old  people — say  those 
seventy  years  old  and  older  sit  upon  the  platform. 
Their  testimony  as  to  God's  goodness  and  power  to 
keep  would  be  interesting  and  helpful. 


Birthday  letters  are  very  helpful.  The  superintendent 
who  sends  birthday  letters  to  his  officers  and  teachers 
will  find  it  is  time  well  spent.  The  same  is  true  as  to 
teachers  and  their  scholars. 


Many  schools  have  "  colours  "  and  a  "  flower."  The 
former  are  used  in  decorations  and  the  latter  on  special 
occasions.  Our  colours  are  blue  and  white  and  our 
flower  is  the  pink  carnation. 


Make  it  plain  to  the  officers  of  the  school  that  no 
interruption  of  teachers  during  the  teaching  period  is  to 
be  permitted  on  any  account.  Be  sure  you  do  not  set  a 
bad  example  yourself. 


It  is  well  to  encourage  the  scholars  to  save  their  illus- 
trated papers  and  bring  them  back  to  the  school  after 
they  have  read  them.  Many  mission-schools  will  be 
glad  to  get  them. 


2^0       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

The  conquest  flag  makes  a  beautiful  decoration  es- 
pecially when  used  with  the  flag  of  the  country.  It  rep- 
resents a  good  idea.  They  may  be  had  of  the  Conquest 
Supply  Co.,  Chicago. 


Send  a  representative  of  the  school  to  visit  other 
schools  and  report  the  good  things  seen  there  to  the 
teachers'  meeting  the  following  week.  We  can  learn 
from  others. 


I  saw  a  rectangular  Sunday-school  room  made  into 
eight  light  class-rooms  in  half  a  minute  by  means  of 
curtains  hung  on  wires  tightly  stretched  across  the  room, 
one  lengthwise  through  the  centre  and  three  crosswise  at 
regular  intervals. 


Occasionally  we  find  a  very  precious  feature  of  our 
opening  exercises  in  what  is  known  as  "  sentence 
prayers."  We  sometimes  have  ten  or  a  dozen  of 
them  in  two  or  three  minutes. 


Occasionally  have  some  good  reader  read  the  lesson 
to  the  school  out  of  the  twentieth  century  New  Testa- 
ment while  the  members  follow  it  in  their  own  Bibles 
noting  the  difference. 


A  Sunday-school  choir  is  capital  if  well  handled.  It 
improves  the  singing  and  is  good  practice  for  the  mem- 
bers who  may  be  in  training  for  the  church  choir  later. 


Appendix  A  251 

Some  schools  have  a  custom  of  decorating  the  graves 
of  members  who  have  died  during  the  preceding  year. 
We  have  never  done  it,  but  it  is  worth  thinking  about. 


Keep  thinking  up  good  names  for  classes,  and  put 
them  in  your  book.  Your  teachers  will  call  upon  you 
from  time  to  time  to  suggest  a  name. 


"  The  Boynton  Neighbourhood,"  by  Faye  Huntington, 
will  greatly  interest  the  home  department  superintendent. 
It  shows  the  possibilities  of  that  department. 


It  is  well  frequently  to  remind  the  young  men  and 
women  in  the  school  of  the  advantages  of  the  young 
people's  society  and  to  urge  them  to  attend. 


Keep  your  eyes  open  for  those  who  are  interested  and 
who  might  possibly  be  induced  to  confess  Christ  and 
join  the  church.  Always  turn  their  names  over  to  the 
pastor. 


Beware  of  the  visitor  who  wishes  to  "  say  a  few  words 
to  the  dear  children."  The  school  is  better  off  without 
that  speech.     Stick  to  the  program. 


I  find  it  is  profitable  to  study  the  advertisements  in  the 
church  and  Sunday-school  papers.  Often  I  find  some- 
thing there  that  will  help  me. 


252        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

It  gives  the  impression  of  enterprise  for  the  school  to 
have  neatly  printed  stationery  of  its  own  for  the  use  of  the 
officers  and  teachers. 


The  superintendent  who  frowns  or  scolds  or  becomes 
impatient  will  soon  lose  his  power  to  control.  That 
gone,  all  is  gone. 


Keep  the  teachers  reading  good  things.  Splendid 
tracts  on  all  phases  of  the  work  are  plentiful.  They  are 
cheap  too. 


Insist  that  no  quarterhes  or  lesson-helps  be  used  in  the 
class  in  the  teaching  process  by  either  teacher  or  scholars. 


The    International  Bible  Reading  Association  works 
well  and  increases  the  interest  in  Bible-study„ 


Have   something   going  on  all  the  time.     Keep  the 
school  continually  looking  forward. 


It   is  well   to   avoid  the  selling  of  tickets  and  such 
things  in  the  church  on  Sunday. 


When  you  notice  a  specially  good  voice  among  the 
scholars  tell  the  chorister  about  it. 


Keep  up  the  shout  of  victory. 
Never  get  discouraged. 


APPENDIX  B 

ONE  HUNDRED  GOOD  BOOKS  FOR  SUNDAY 
SCHOOL  WORKERS 

ORGANIZATION  AND  HISTORY 

The  Pedagogical  Bible  School.    Haslett,      -        -    net,  $1.2^ 
This  comprehensive  work  reviews  religious  instruc- 
tion from  its  very  earliest  beginnings  and  tracing 
their  development  to  this  day,  looks  forward  to  the 
perfectly  organized  school  of  the  future. 

Story  of  Robert  Raikes.     Harris,        »        .        -  .50 

A  study  of  the  life  of  this  singular  and  epoch-creating 
man. 

Sunday  School  Movements  in  America.    Brown,       -      $1.25 
Historical,  critical  and  practical.     The  results  of  very 
careful  and  comprehensive  investigations  both  as  to 
the  past  and  the  present  of  the  school.     A  book  to 
be  carefully  studied. 

The  Twentieth  Century  Sunday  School.     Greene,    net,      ,50 
Lectures  from  the  view-point  of  the  pastor  of  a  highly 
efficient  school. 

The  Front-line  of  the  Sunday  School  Movement. 

Peloubet,    --------        net,  $1.00 

The  author's  name  and  his  topic  fully  indicate  the 
value  of  this  work. 

Timothy  Stand-by.     Clark, .50 

Amusing  and  illuminating  sketches  and  sermons  in 
strange  guise. 

The  Sunday  School  of  To-day.     McKamy,         -        -  .60 

A  symposium. 

Reports  of  the  International  Sunday  School  Con- 
ventions.      .50 

Absolutely  necessary  if  you  would  keep  up-to-date 
and  know  what  the  greatest  workers  are  doing. 

253 


254       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

The  Evolution  OF  THE  Sunday  School.     Reed,        -  .10 

An  exceedingly  compact  review  of  all  the  steps  of 
the  great  movement  from  the  time  of  Abraham  to 
this  day. 

RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION  IN  GENERAL. 

Education  IN  Religion  AND  Morals.     Coe         -         «<?/,  $1.35 
On  the  place,  the  purpose,  the  principles  and  the 
possibilities  of  religious  education  in  our  modern 
life.     A  splendid  piece  of  work. 

Christian  Nurture.     Bushnell,        .        .        -        .    net,  51.25 
Recognized    to-day   as  a  classic  on  the  underlying 
principles  of  the  religious  training  of  the  child. 

The  Natural  Way.     Du  Bois,        -        -        -        .       net,  $1.2^ 
Especially  good  on  the  great  principles  of  child-nur- 
ture. 

Principles  OF  Religious  Education.    Butler  et  al,  ^1.25 

A  collection  of  very  helpful  lectures,  delivered  by 
authorities,  on  the  educational  work  of  the  church. 

The  Religion  of  a  Mature  Mind.     Coe,        -        -     net,  ;55i.35 
Spiritual  and  constructive  studies  of  great  help  to 
many  puzzled  teachers  who  must  meet  the  needs 
of  their  pupils. 

School  AND  Society.    Dewey,        -       .       .       .  Ji.oo 

A  great  assistance  to  a  broader  view  of  great  prin- 
ciples. 

Syllabus  OF  Religious  Education.    Hodge,        -  .15 

More  in  its  thirty  pages  than  in  many  a  pretentious 
volume.  It  is  a  complete,  compact  guide  to  the 
newer  type  of  religious  education. 

Bible-school  Curriculum.     Pease,        ...       net,  $1.25 


METHODS— GENERAL. 

Sunday  School  Success.     Welh,        -  -        -  1 1.2 5 

Forty-four  chapters  of  practical  hints  on  the  road  to 

success. 
"  For  Sunday  School  Teachers  and  Superintendents 
it  is  the  best  hand-book  on  methods  of  work  and 
mastery  of  difficulties  we  have  yet  seen.  It  is  in- 
teresting. There  is  not  a  dull  chapter  in  it." — 
Evangelical  Messenger. 


Appendix  B  255 

Ways  of  Working.    Schauffler,        -       -  -  $1.00 

Presents  the  purposes  of  Sunday-school  teaching  and 
follows  this  with  suggestions  as  to  methods.  Its 
plans  have  evidently  been  tested. 

Yale  Lectures  on  the  Sunday  School.     Trumbull,  $i.oq 

On  the  origin,  mission  and  methods  of  the  school. 
One  of  the  great  works  on  the  philosophy  and  the 
practice  of  religious  instruction. 

The  Pedagogical  Bible  School.     Haslett,         -  nel,$i,2^ 

On  the  great  principles  that  must  underhe  all 
methods.  The  book,  par  excellence,  on  the 
school  of  to-day.  Full  treatment  of  the  history, 
conditions,  problems  and  possibilities  of  the  or- 
ganization. 

The  Organized  Sunday  School.     Axiell,        -        -     net,      .50 
Practical    and    practicable.      Deals    with    all    the 
workers  in  the  school.     A  handy  hand-book. 

A  Manual  of  Sunday  School  Methods.     Foster,  75 

A  handy  practical  volume  on  plans  of  work,  con- 
taining some  very  good  suggestions. 

Seven  Graded  Sunday  Schools.     Hurlbut,        -        -  .50 

One  of  the  very  few  books  on  the  grading  of  the 
school  giving  the  plans  of  seven  schools. 

The  Modern  Sunday  School.     Vincent,        -        -  .90 

A  tonic  for  teachers  and  a  text-book  for  all  Sunday- 
school  workers,  especially  good  on  outlines  of 
courses  of  study. 

Teachers'  Meetings,  Their  Necessity  and  Methods. 

Trumbull, net^  .^o 

Practical  suggestions  on  this  very  important  detail  of 
work. 

Principles   and   Ideals   for  the  Sunday  School. 

Burton  and  Matthews, net,  $i.oo 

The  application  of  the  noblest  ideals  and  the 
broadest  principles  worked  out  by  men  of  long 
practical  experience  in  the  school.  Especially 
stimulating  on  grading. 

How  to  Make  the  Sunday  School  Go.     Brewer,        -  .60 

A  small  book  of  outlines  of  plans  of  work  prepared 
by  those  who  have  made  their  schools  go. 


256        How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

The  Bible  School.    McKinttey,        ...        -    net,       .60 
Thirty  short  chapters  on  the  school's  problems  and 
its  work,  written  from  practical  experience,  an  in- 
tense little  work. 

Modern  Methods  in  Sunday  School  Work.     Mead,  net,  $1.50 
A  plain  volume  on  the  practical  methods,  with  many 
illustrations,  and  good  treatment  of  the  machinery 
of  the  modern  school. 

Three  Years  With  THE  Children.  Wells,  -  -  $1.25 
Three  times  fifty-two  five  minute  sermons. 
"There  is  a  wide  range  alike  of  subjects  and  of 
methods,  furnishing  abundant  and  suggestive 
models  for  all  sorts  of  addresses  to  children, 
blackboard  talks,  object  lessons,  conversations, 
etc. ' '  — Baptist  Union. 

A  Practical  Hand-book  on  Sunday  School  Work. 

Peters, .60 

Short,  incisive  chapters  both  on  methods  and  on 
teaching  ;  a  good,  general  primer. 

Grading  THE  Sunday  School.     Axtell,        -        -        net,      .50 
Up-to-date  and  abounding  in  common  sense  ;  valu- 
able to  the  small  school  as  well  as  to  the  larger 
one. 

Map  Modelling.     Maltby, J!5i.25 

Incidentally  throws  light  on  a  number  of  vexatious 
problems. 

The  Librarian  of  the  American  Sunday  School. 

Foote,     ---------  .35 

The  most  helpful  work  on  this  subject. 


PRIMARY  AND  JUNIOR. 

Practical  Primary  Plans.  Black,  -  -  -  -  net,  $1.00 
Revised  and  enlarged.  Just  what  the  name  implies. 
Every  phase  of  this  important  work  discussed,  and 
plans,  tested  by  experience,  carefully  explained. 
Adopted  by  International  Primary  Department  in 
their  "  Training  Course." 

Picture  Work.     Hervey,     - net,     .30 

Adopted  in  the  International  Primary  Teachers' 
Training  Course.  A  study  in  the  use  of  the  teach- 
er's essential  material,  the  language.  The  art 
of  story-telling. 


Appendix  B  257 

The  Shepherd  Psalm  for  Children.     Baldwin,        •  .35 

Ideal  teachings  of  the  truths  of  this  famihar  Psalm. 
"  We    can    say  without    reserve    that   it  is  equally 
adapted  to  teach  the  teacher  how  to  teach,  to  teach 
the  child  how  to  learn,  and  to  teach  what  ought 
to  be  learned." — Chnsiian  Advocate,  N.  Y. 

Children's  Meetings.     Lucy  Rider  Meyer, 

Cloth,  net,  $1,00.     Paper,  net,  .50 
Chapters  on  the  religious  training  of  the  young,  out- 
hnes  of  and  short  suitable  sermons  for  a  variety  of 
occasions,  together  with  plans  and  music  for  the 
children. 

Object  Lessons  FOR  Junior  Work.     Wood,        -       -  .50 

General  directions  on  the  materials  and  methods  of 
object  teaching,  with  a  number  of  examples  and 
lessons.     These  are  all  things  that  you  can  do. 

Bible  Lessons  for  Little  Beginners.     HaiJen, 

Two  years'  course,  in  two  volumes,  each         -         -  net,      .75 
Fully   prepared  lessons  by  an  experienced  kinder- 
gartner  ;  all  the  lessons  marked  by  clear  spirit- 
uahty. 

Lord's  Prayer  for  Children.     Lawson,    -        -        -  7iet,      .50 
Illustrations    and    examples    of    the    kindergarten 
method  of  teaching  this  important  lesson  to  the 
very  young,  given  by  a  specialist. 

After  THE  Primary,  What  ?     McKinney,    •        -        -net,      .75 
Practical,  constructive  and  convincing  on  the  too- 
much  neglected  Junior  Department. 

The  Door  in  the  Book.     Bernard,      -        .        -        -  net,  $1.00 
Combines  the  fascination  of  a  fairy  book  with  rev- 
erent and  helpful  interpretation  of  the  Scripture 
stories. 

Kindergarten  Stories  for  the  Sunday  School  and 

the  Home.      Cragin,        --.-.-  net,  $1.25 
Sixty-three  Bible  stories,  framed  in  suitable  language 
and  well  illustrated. 

An  Introduction  to  the  Bible  for  Teachers  of 

Children.      Chamberlain, net,  ;?l.oo 

The  fruit  of  experience  and  found  in  practice  to  be 
a  great  help  in  giving  the  right  view-point. 


258       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

The  Kindergarten  Sunday  School.     Beard,     -        -  net,      .75 
Principally  lessons  opened  up  and  applied  according 
to  the  kindergarten  method. 

Republic  of  Childhood.     Wiggin  and  Smith,     -        •        ^^3.00 

A  Primer  OF  THE  Bible,     Bennet,        -        .        .        .        $1.00 
Its  suggestions  and  its  view-point  make  it  of  great 
value  to  all  Sunday-school  teachers. 


INTERMEDIATE  AND  ADVANCED. 

Almost  all  the  books  classed  under  "  Methods — General  "  deal 
with  the  intermediate  ;  the  first,  second,  fourth  and  last  in  that  list 
are  especially  valuable  for  this  department. 

After  the  Primary,  What  ?    McKinney,    -        -        -  net,      .75 
A  manual  for  the  worker  in  the  junior  and  inter- 
mediate   departments    by   one    of   our    greatest 
authorities  in  Sunday-school  pedagogy. 

Boys  of  the  Street  :  How  to  Win  Them.    Stelzle,  -  net,     .50 
Practical  plans.     The  author  has  been  most  success- 
ful himself  and  tells  how  to  do  it.     This  book  is 
accepted  as  the  best  book  on  the  subject. 

The  Boy  Problem.     Forbush,        -        -        -  -net,     .75 

A  study  of  the  boy,  particularly  in  the  group  ;  an 
investigation  of  plans  for  helping  and  reaching 
boys  ;  many  good  suggestions. 

The  Teacher,  the  Child  and  the  Book.     Schauffler,        $1.00 
Touching  on  many  difficult  phases  of  these  three 
factors,     and    especially    on    their    coordination. 
Contains  valuable  suggestions  on  teaching  the  life 
of  Christ. 

Boyhood.     Richmond,  -        -        -        -        -        -        -         $1.00 

The  Sunday  School  Scholar's  Treasury,  -  .25 

Much  valuable  information  in  small  space. 


HOME  DEPARTMENT. 

The  Home  Department.     Hazard,     -        .        .        -  net,      .50 
On    the    history    and    application    of  this   modern 
method.     Comprehensive  and  practical. 


Appendix  B  259 

BLACKBOARD  WORK. 

Pictured  Truth.     Pierce, 1^1.25 

Designs  and  directions  for  attractive  blackboard 
work.  Superintendents  everywhere  have  found 
this  a  valuable  help.  Well  illustrated.  Clear  and 
definite. 

The  Blackboard  in  the  Sunday  School.    Bailey,    •  .75 

Useful  for  all  who  would  work  with  chalk  ;  methods 
and  examples  of  blackboard  practice. 

The  Bible  and  the  Blackboard.    Behey,         -        -  .75 

Mr.  Belsey  furnishes  the  blackboard  work  for  The 
Sunday  School  Chronicle,  of  London,  Eng. 


SPIRITUAL  WORK. 

Spiritual  Life  in  the  Sunday  School.     Chapman,    -  net,     .35 
Dr.  Chapman  takes  up  the  opportunities  and  the  re- 
sponsibilities of  the  superintendent  and  the  teacher 
in  the  spiritual  care  of  the  young. 

Individual  Work  for  Individuals.     Trumbull, 

There  is  nothing  better.  Paper,  net,  .35.     Cloth,  .75 

The  Child  for  Christ.     McKinney,    -        .        -        -  net,     ,50 
A  manual  for  pastors,  parents  and  Sunday-school 
workers  interested   in   and  desirous  of  securing 
the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  children.    Dr.  Schauffler 
says  it  is  "  simply  invaluable." 


THE  SUPERINTENDENT. 

The  Model  Superintendent.     Trumbull,    -        -        •        $1.25 
There  are  few  books  dealing  with  this  office.    Every 
superintendent  will  find  this  one  of  value. 

Ways  of  Working.     Schauffler,  -        -        -        .        -        $1.00 
Already   noticed   under  methods.     Contains  some 
good  suggestions  for  superintendents. 

School  Management.    Button, $1.00 


26o       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

THE  PASTOR. 

The  Pastor  and  the  Sunday  School.     Hatcher,        -  net,      .75 
Lectures   delivered   by    a   pastor   and   educator   to 
pastors  and  educators,  maintaining  that  ttie  pastor 
of  the   church  must  thoroughly  identify  himself 
with  the  school  in  the  church. 

Pastoral   Leadership  of  Sunday  School  Forces. 

Schaiiffler,        ..--....  figt,      .50 
On  the  what,  how  and  why  of  teaching,  addressed 
to   pastors ;    but   stimulating   and   helpful   to   all 
workers.     Dr.  Schauffler  is  always  practical. 

The  Twentieth  Century  Sunday  School.     Greene.  -  .50 

A  course  of  lectures  delivered  at  the  Southern  Baptist 
Seminary,  Louisville,  Ky.,  by  Dr.  Samuel  H. 
Greene,  pastor  of  the  Calvary  Baptist  Church, 
Washington,  D.  C,  treats  of  the  Sunday  School 
from  the  pastor's  standpoint. 

The  Pastor  and  Teacher  Training.     McKinney.      -  .50 

Another  course  of  lectures  before  the  Louisville 
Seminary.     Helpful  and  inspiring. 

The  Ministry  of  the  Sunday  School.     Pattison.    -    net,  $1.00 
Takes  up  in   Dr.  Pattison's   own  luminous  way  the 
ministry  of  the  school,  the  minister  in  the  school 
and  the  future  of  the  school. 

The  Institutional  Church.     Judson,        ...  net,      .60 
Those  already  noticed,  under  Spiritual  Work,  are 
good  for  pastors. 


PEDAGOGY. 

Teaching  and  Teachers.     TntmbuU,         -         -        -        $1.25 
Thoroughly  sane  and  yet  truly  scientific.    The  prod- 
uct of  ripe  wisdom. 

The  Pedagogical  Bible  School.     Haslett,  -        net,  ;5!i.25 

A  careful  study  of  the  science  of  teaching  in  relation 
to  Bible  school  students,  with  wise  suggestions  as 
to  grading,  both  of  schools  and  studies.  Contains 
a  good  bibliography. 

Adolescence,  its  Psychology  and  its  Relation  to 
Physiology,  Anthropology,  Sociology,  Sex, 
Crime,  Religion  and  Education.  G.  Stanley 
Hall.    A  monumental  work,  2  Volumes,  -        -  net,  $7.So 


Appendix  B  261 

The  Sunday  School  Teacher.     Hamill,     ...  .50 

On  the  art  of  teaching  and  its  application,  by  the 
International  Teacher  Training  expert.  A  small 
book  ;  but  hke  a  nugget  of  gold. 

The  Seven  Laws  of  Teaching.     Gregory,  -        -        -  net,     .50 
A  standard  text-book  on  practical  pedagogy  used  in 
many  training  classes. 

How  TO  Plan  A  Lesson.     Brown,        ...        -  .50 

Securing  and  Retaining  Attention.     Hughes,         -  .25 

A  Primer  on  Teaching.     Ada?ns,         -        -  -  nei,     .25 

Written  with  special  reference  to  Sunday-school 
work,  with  introduction  and  notes,  in  American 
Edition.     Used  as  a  text-book  in  training  classes. 

The  Teacher  and  the  Child.  Mark,  -  -  -  net,  .75 
Plain  and  practical  chapters  by  a  celebrated  expert 
in  teacher-training,  on  the  great  principles  of 
pedagogy.  A  real  help  to  every  teacher,  as  it 
copes  with  precisely  the  problems  they  must 
meet. 

Methods  of  the  Recitation.     McMurray,         -        -  net,     .90 

Apperception,  OR  A  Pot  OF  Green  Feathers.    Rooper,  .25 

The  Natural  Way  in  Moral  Training.  Dii  Bois,  -  ftet,  51.25 
An  illuminating  study  in  the  natural  laws  of  re- 
ligious instruction  and  spiritual  nurture.  It  shows 
how  the  great  forces  operative  in  character  de- 
velopment may  be  applied  by  parent,  teacher  and 
pastor.     Invaluable  to  teachers. 

The  Teaching  Problem.    Axtell,        ....  net,     .50 
Goes  direct  to  the  problem  and  deals  with  the  teach- 
er's individual  difficulties. 

Froebel's  Educational  Laws.     Hughes,   -        -        -        ^1.25 
Mr.    Hughes  has,   in   this  book,  brought  the  great 
principles  of  Froebel  within  the  grasp  of  the  non- 
professional teacher. 

Hints  on  Child  Training.     Trumbull,        -        -        -        $1.25 
More  than  hints  ;   these  are  careful  studies  of  the 
great  problems  of  the  parent  and  the  teacher. 

The  Art  of  Teaching.     Salmon,  ....         $1.25 

Practical  chapters  on  teaching  as  a  technical  art, 
especially  in  relation  to  the  elementary  grades. 


262       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

Educational  Aims  and  Methods.    Fitch,         -       -        $1.25 

Religious  Teaching  IN  Secondary  Schools.    Bell,    -        $1.00 
Rich  in  suggestions  of  treatment  of  Bible  lessons. 


PSYCHOLOGY. 

The  Point  of  Contact  in  Teaching.     Du  Bois,         -  .75 

Tells  you  how  to  enter  the  mind  of  a  child  or  any 
whom  you  would  instruct.  It  has  been  a  revela- 
tion to  many  teachers. 

The  Spiritual  Life.     Coe, $1.00 

Careful  and  clear  studies  in  the  psychology  of  re- 
ligion. Teachers  and  workers  will  be  led  to  the 
understanding  of  their  scholars.  The  kind  of 
theory  that  leads  to  good  practice. 

Psychology  in  the  School  Room.    Dexter  &*  Garlick,        ^1.50 
A  standard  work. 

Talks  to  Teachers  on  Psychology.     James,    -       -  net,  ^1.50 
Very   practical   and    helpful,   dealing   plainly   with 
points    of    great    importance    to    Sunday-school 
teachers.     Especially  helpful  on  "  Interest." 

A  Study  of  Child  Nature.     Harrison,       -        .        -  net,  ;5!i.oo 
On  the  training  of  the  instincts  and  faculties  of  the 
child,  a  guide  book  for  mothers  and  teachers,  pre- 
pared by  an  authority. 

Psychology  IN  Education.     Roark,    -       -        -        -net,  $1.00 
Thoroughly  scientific  and  yet  very  helpful  chapters 
on  the  mind  of  the  learner. 

Beckonings  From  Little  Hands.     Du  Bois,      -        •  .75 

A  beautiful  little  study  of  the  inner  life  of  the  child. 

The  Study  of  a  Child.      Taylor,         ...        -        J?i.25 
In  the  International  Education  Series.     A  careful 
investigation. 

Children's  Ways.     Sully, S1.25 

The  selections  from  Dr.  Sully's  larger  work  which 
are  best  suited  to  the  parent  and  the  teacher. 

The  Story  of  the  Mind.     Baldwin,     -        -        .        -  net      .35 
A  good  introduction  to  psychology,  neither  too  pro- 
found nor  too  elementary. 


Appendix  B  263 

TEACHER-TRAINING. 

While  all  the  books  in  this  list  are  of  value  in  the  training  of 
teachers,  those  that  follow  contain  special  courses  suitable  for 
Teacher-Training  Classes. 

Sunday  School  Teacher-Training.     Hamill,     -        -  .50 

A  forcible  presentation  of  the  imperativeness  of  this 
duty  and  a  series  of  clear  statements  as  to  its 
methods. 

Teacher-Training  With  the  Master  Teacher. 

Beardslee, net,      .  50 

Takes  the  method  of  Jesus  as  a  Teacher  as  seen  in 

the  many  incidents  of  His  work  ;  illuminative  and 

inspiring. 

Teachers'  Meetings;  Their  Necessity  and  Meth- 
ods.    Trujnbull, net,     .^o 

The  Organized  Sunday  School,    Axtell,   -        -        -  net,     .50 

The  Sunday  School  Teacher.     Hamill,     -        -        -  net,      .50 

The  Seven  Laws  of  Teaching.  Gregory,  -  -  -  net,  .  50 
To  these  there  should  be  added  the  numerous 
"Normal  Courses,"  not  given  in  this  list,  e.g., 
•'  Sunday  School  Teacher's  Normal  Course,"  two 
years,  by  George  W.  Pease.  Hurlbut's  "Re- 
vised Normal  Lessons."  Hamill's  "Legion  of 
Honour  Normal  Course."  Semelroth's  Complete 
Normal  Manual.  Bible  Studies — By  Books, — 
By  Doctrines, — By  Periods, — Supplemental  Bible 
Studies, — Studies  in  Life  of  Paul, — and  Studies  in 
Life  of  Christ,  6  vols.,  by  Henry  T.  Sell. 

Studies  for  Personal  Workers.     Johnston, 

Cloth,  ,66.     Paper,  .40 

A  collection  of  choice  studies  for  the  promotion  of 
individual  evangelism.  -        ...        -  Cloth.  75 


MISSIONS  IN  THE  SCHOOL. 

A  Missionary  Horologue.    Reed,        ...        -  .10 

A  compact  chronological  epitome  of  missions 
through  all  time,  with  outlines  on  the  great 
principles  of  missions. 

Princely  Men  of  the  Heavenly  Kingdom.    Beach,  net,     .50 
Splendid  pictures  by  a  prince  of  men. 


264       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

Effective  Workers  in  Needy  Fields.    McDowell, 

et  al,         --------        -  net,      .50 

Missionary  Principles  and  Practices.     Speer,         -  net,  IS1.50 
Splendidly  enthusiastic  on  the  principles  and  duties 
of  this  great  work.     Will  fire  any  teacher. 

Religions  of  the  World.     Grant,      -        -       -        -  net,    .40 
A  clear  and  comprehensive  statement  of  the  many 
faiths.     Quite  necessary  to  the  teaching  of  mis- 
sions. 

Missionary  Studies  FOR  the  Sunday  School.    Trull,  net,     .15 
Six  studies  that  have  been  actually  used  by  an  up- 
to-date  school,  consisting  of  bright  outlines,  good 
questions  and  valuable  references.     A  good  text- 
book. 


APPENDIX  C 

MY  FORMER  PASTORS— AN  APPRECIATION 

Four  former  pastors,  choice  men  of  God,  whose  com- 
bined terms  of  service  cover  the  years  from  1883  to  190 1, 
have  in  the  pages  following,  given  their  generous  words 
of  testimony  concerning  the  Sunday-school  referred  to  in 
this  book. 

My  present  pastor,  a  true  yoke-fellow,  who  has  been 
to  me  all  that  any  superintendent  could  wish  for  in  his 
pastor,  furnishes  the  introduction. 

These  pastors  have  all  maintained  a  vital  relationship 
to  the  school,  always  present  throughout  the  entire  ses- 
sion, always  interested,  always  at  work. 

They  speak  from  actual  knowledge,  though  their  words 
are  far  too  complimentary. 

Their  sympathetic  cooperation,  helpful  counsel,  and 
never  failing  patience  have  been  a  constant  inspiration 
to  me. 

They  have  been  my  best  helpers. 

I  love  them — every  one. 


M 


'(2y2^c^n^ 


265 


266       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

TESTIMONIES  OF  FORMER  PASTORS  COVER- 
ING  TWENTY  YEARS 

From  Rev.  Josiah  H.  Jenkins,  Cincinnati,  O. 

"  When  I  became  pastor  of  the  Washington  Street 
Congregational  Church,  Toledo,  Ohio,  I  found  Mr.  Law- 
rance  in  charge  of  the  Sunday-school.  He  was  resolutely 
acting  upon  the  Apostle's  injunction,  "  Prove  all  things  ; 
hold  fast  that  which  is  good."  Prizing  at  its  full  value 
the  old,  he  had  rare  ability  for  devising,  appreciating  and 
adapting  the  new.  But  old  or  new,  everything  must 
stand  the  supreme  test  of  making  the  Sunday-school  a 
soul-saving  institution.  I  cannot  see  how  any  system  is 
likely  to  be  better  adapted  to  the  workings  of  a  Sunday- 
school  than  that  which  is  here  in  successful  operation. 
Its  constant  and  oft  repeated  aim  is  to  lead  its  members, 
first  to  Christ,  and  then  into  the  church.  Results  are 
always  the  goal,  and  these  are  realized  in  that  school  as 
in  no  other  school  I  know  of." 


From  Rev.  A.  B.  White,  Los  Atigeles,  Cal. 

*'  Well  do  I  remember  that  Sunday-school.  There  was 
a  sunny  joyousness  and  freshness  in  it  that  transformed 
all  into  a  refreshing  and  inspiring  service.  The  method 
of  securing  order  at  the  beginning  of  the  session  was  new 
to  me.  I  had  seen  superintendents  who  pounded  the 
desk,  clanged  the  bell,  tramped  around  and  gave  sharp 
reprimands.  Not  so  with  Mr.  Lawrance.  Everything 
was  ready.  When  he  arose  to  open  the  school  order 
seemed  to  prevail  instantly.  It  was  delightful  to  see  the 
■sympathetic  cooperation  and  harmony  of  action  between 


Appendix  C  267 

superintendent,  teachers  and  scholars.  All  felt  it  an 
honour  to  belong  to  the  school,  and  joyfully  contributed 
to  its  success.  No  wonder  it  grew  and  grew  until  there 
was  not  a  vacant  seat.  Delicacy  forbids  that  I  say  all 
my  heart  prompts  me  to  of  this  superintendent  and  his 
grand  work.  To  continue  so  long  a  time  at  the  head  of 
one  school ;  to  bring  so  many  divergent  minds  into  har- 
monious cooperation ;  to  secure  such  abundant  fruits 
from  years  of  toil ;  shows  a  master  in  the  art  of  success- 
fully conducting  a  Sunday-school." 


From  Rev.  0.  D.  Fisher,  Wolfboro,  N.  H. 

"  During  my  pastorate  of  the  Washington  Street  Con- 
gregational Church  we  left  the  old  house  and  moved  into 
the  new.  The  way  the  Sunday-school  stood  the  test  of 
transition,  was  a  strong  proof  of  its  stability.  I  was  a 
constant  attendant  of  the  school,  and  know  its  workings. 
It  is  surely  a  model  school,  not  in  theory,  but  in  fact ;  a 
title  given  to  it  by  others,  but  never  claimed  for  it  by  its 
superintendent.  All  the  machinery  used  was  a  living  or- 
ganism and  not  a  hindermg  device.  The  life  within  the 
wheels  was  the  Spirit  of  God,  the  manifest  presence  of 
which  was  the  distinctive  feature  that  characterized  the 
school.  It  had  a  definite  aim  ;  and  to  a  greater  degree 
than  I  have  ever  known  in  any  other  school,  its  aim  was 
carried  out." 


From  Rev.  G.  A.  Burgess,  D.  D.,  Pawtucket,  R.  I. 

"  The  Washington  Street  Congregational  Sunday- 
school  brings  great  practical  results  to  pass.  Its  mem- 
bers learn  that  punctuality,  righteousness  and  sunshine 


268       How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School 

belong  to  true  religion.  The  place  breathes  with  great 
esprit  de  corps.  Its  life  of  service  is  evident  in  its  "  Giv- 
ing "  Christmas,  and  large  benevolences.  Its  scores  of 
memory  verses  are  like  Eolian  strings  over  which  winds 
of  adversity  and  temptation  make  music.  It  is  a  work- 
shop and  a  home.  The  sunny  radiance  of  the  great 
assembly  studying  the  Word  of  God,  the  hum  of  busy 
groups  listening  and  answering  with  heads  together,  the 
quiet,  happy  moments  of  silent  prayer,  the  comforting 
words  of  the  superintendent,  with  souls  deciding  for 
Christ  and  uniting  with  the  church — these  make  the 
Washington  Street  Sunday-school  a  memory  ineradicable 
for  good  for  all  the  years.  I  thank  my  Heavenly  Father 
that  I  have  been  a  member  of  it." 


Index 


A.  B.  C.  of  good  teaching,  The,  93 

Acknowledgment  card,  211 

Adapt  before  you  adopt,  248 

Adaptation  of  teachers,  49 

Adult  department.  The,  19,  46 

After  decision  day,  what,  212 

After-meeting,  The,  248 

After  the  lesson,  what,  61 

Age  basis  in  grading,  47 

A  good  object  lesson,  241 

A  good  marking  system,  165 

A  grand  review,  148 

Akron  plan,  The,  23 

A  lesson  to  be  learned,  62 

Allen,  Rev.  Ernest  Bourner,  5,  7, 

77,  120,  121 
All  should  give,  136 
Allow  for  animal  spirits,  233 
Alumni,  The,  152 
Always  something  doing,  252 
American  Blackboard  Co.,  The,  249 
American    Sunday    School   Union, 

226 
A  method  of  recognition,  128 
Amusement  room.  An,  34 
An  appreciation,  265 
Angle  method  for  teachers'  meet- 
ing, 105,  108 
An  interest  in  boys,  231 
Anniversary,  The,  150 
Anniversary  music,  154,  155 
Announcements,     how     to     make 

them,  58,  240 
A  pod  of  P's,  91 

Applications  for  membership,  73, 74 
Arches,  The,  151 
Architecture,  a  new  idea,  25 
Arranging  the  platform,  80 
Art  of  questioning.  The,  93,  94 
Assistant  superintendent,  70 
Assistant    superintendent :     should 

have  definite  duties,  71 
Associate  superintendent,  70 
A  sample  treasurer's  report,  137 


Attendance  record,  40 
Average  attendance  based  on  mark- 
ing system,  165 

Bad  boy.  The,  229 

Banners,  a  use  for,  58 

Banner  classes,  161 

Baraca  Class,  The,  172 

Basis  of  classification,  47 

Beautiful  cross,  A,  240 

Beautiful  decorations,  250 

Before  the  session,  54 

Begin  early,  62 

Beginners,  The,  46 

Believing  in  boys,  229 

Bell,  its  use  and  abuse,  34 

Benediction,  school  seated ;  why,  61 

Benefits  of  class  organization,  170, 
171 

Best  books  for  Sunday  School 
workers,  108 

Best  record  book  for  a  superin- 
tendent. The,  239 

Bible,  how  to  use  it.  The,  212,  213 

Bible  illustration.  A,  191 

Bible  Institute  Colportage  Associa- 
tion, 162 

Bibles,  all  should  have,  30 

Bibles  as  gifts  on  promotion  day,  50 

Bibles  in  the  hands  of  all,  17 

Bibles  should  be  shown,  57 

Bible  teaching  service,  17 

Big  boy.  The,  224 

Biographer,  The,  39,  75 

Birthday  letters,  77,  127,  249 

Birthday  money,  how  secured,  how 
used,  76 

Birthday  secretary,  76 

Blackboards,  23,  27 

Blackboard  and  object  teaching, 
The,  179 

Blackboard,  how  to  make  letters,  1 87 

Blackboard,  simple  work  the  best. 
The,  182 


i6g 


270 


Index 


Blackboard  used  for  maps,  The,  183 
Blackboards     used     to     announce 

hymns,  55 
Blackboard   work,    helpful    books, 

259 
Blackboard  work  illustrations,  183, 

184 
Bonner,  Rev.  Carey,  153 

Books  on  child  study,  262 
Books  on  how  to  teach,  260 
Books  for  intermediate  workers,  258 
Books  on  pedagogy,  260 
Books  on  teacher  training,  263 
"  Boynton     Neighborhood,     The," 

Boys,  allow  for  animal  spirits,  233 
Boy  and  baseball,  The,  227 
Boy's  great  enemy.  The,  224 
Boys,  how  secured  and  held,  228, 

229 
Boys  Messenger  Cadets,  215 
Boys  Messenger  Service,  215 
Boys,  recognizing  their  individual- 
ity, 232 
Boys  should  be  kept  busy,  231 
Boys,  sympathize  with  them,  234 
Boys'  teachers  should  be  tactful,  233 
Broughton,  Hon.  N.  B.,  122 
Buildings,  21 

Building,  its  characteristics,  22 
Building,  class  rooms,  25 
Building,  movable  partitions,  22 
Burgess,  Rev.  G.  A.,  D.  D.,  267 
Bushnell,  Rev.  Horace,  D.  D.,  15, 

16 
Business  of  the  school  discussed  at 
the  Teachers'  Meeting,  The,  98 

Cabinets,  46 

Cabinet,  The :  Its  use  and  value,  82 

Cabinet,  The  :  Of  whom  consist,  82 

Captain  Steele,  a  testimony,  226 

Care  for  the  sick,  127 

Care  in   receiving   new  members, 

246 
Case  or  box,  125 
Cause  of  church  debts.  The,  133 
Central  truth,  The,  95 
Central  truth,  The :  Not  always  the 

same,  95 


Certificate  of  promotion,  51 
Chaffee,  General,  235 
Chairs  for  seating,  26 
Chapman,  Rev.  J.  Wilbur,  D.  D,, 

211 
Chart,  A  :  The  Life  of  Christ,  108 
Charts,  30 

Charts,  home  made,  30 
Cheap  class  rooms,  250 
Cheap  entertainments,  168 
Childhood,  the  battle  ground,  19 
Children's  Day,  146 
Children's  Day  offering,  for  what 

used,  146 
Choice  moments  after  the  session, 

62 
Christmas,  how  to  celebrate,  153 
Christmas,  more   blessed   to   give, 

160 
Christmas,  tickets  of  admission,  159 
Christmas,  the  lesson,  156 
Christmas  trees,  153 
Christmas,  what  to  give,  157 
Christmas,  what  to  give  for,  158 
Church  failing  to  support  Sunday 

School,  18 
Church,  its  responsibility  and  hous- 
ing, 22 
Church  membership,  proportion  in 

Sunday  School,  17 
Church,  only  one,  17 
Church  paper.  The,  242 
Church,    should     control     Sunday 

School,  19 
Cigarettes,  203 

Cigarettes  and  the  detective,  204 
Class  boxes,  27 
Class  buttons,  172 
Class  colours,  172 
Class  library.  A,  242 
Class  libraries,  172 
Class  mottoes,  172 
Class  organization,  168,  169 
Class  rooms,  importance  of,  26 
Class  tables,  27 
Clifford,     Dr.     John,     conversions 

through  the  Sunday  School,  18 
Clippings,  should    not   be   wasted, 

247 
Closing  exercises,  243 


Index 


271 


Closing  hymn,  how  selected,  61 

Colours  for  the  school,  249 

Coloured  seals  and  pins,  117 

Committee  on  Education,  53,  65 

Committee  work  in  class  organiza- 
tion, 170 

Concentrating  on  the  weak  points, 
247 

Confession  card,  21 1 

Conquest  flag,  The,  250 

Conquest  Supply  Co.,  The,  250 

Constitution  for  organizing  classes 
of  young  men,  170 

Convenient  prayer  list,  A,  245 

Courtesy  Committee,  78 

Covenant  for  Sunday  School 
Teachers  and  Officers,  117 

Cradle  Roll,  The,  46 

Crandell,  F.  G.,  137 

Crayon,  what  colours  to  use,  187 

Creating  appetite,  225 

Curse  of  drink,  The,  225 

Danger  of  recruiting  contests,  The, 

122,  123 
Decision  day,  206,  209 
Decision  day  card,  210,  211 
Decision  day,  how  to  prepare  for 

it,  208 
Decision  day,  its  importance,  206 
Decision  day,  objections,  206,  207 
Decision  day,  some  helpful  books, 

208 
Decision  day,  suggestions  for,  207 
Decision    day,    the    personal    ele- 
ment, 208 
Decision  day,  the  use  of  the  Bible, 

212 
Decision  day,  when  to  hold  it,  206 
Decorating  the  graves,  25 1 
Definite  plan,  A,  92 
Departments,  The,  42,  43 
Department,  Intermediate,  25 
Department  rooms,  24 
Departments,  separate  rooms,  25 
Department  superintendents,  81 
Departmental  organization,  48 
Dignifying  school  membership,  1 29 
Door  men,  The,  79,  80 
During  the  session,  55 


Easter,  145 
Easter,  the  best,  145 
Egg  hunting  picnic,  174,  175 
Electric  bells,  80 
Employment  bureau,  128 
Endless  blackboards.  The,  249 
Enrollment,  best  method  of  keep- 
ing. 37 
Enrollment  should  be  complete,  37 
Enrollment,  sample  form,  38 
Enrollment,  the  card  system,  37 
Enrollment,  what  it  should  include, 

37 
Entertainments,  167 
Equipment,  a  word  of  warning,  35 
Equipment,  its  purpose,  21 
Equipment,  not  an  essential,  21 
Equipment,  various  articles  of,  35 
Excel],  Prof.  E.  O.,  237 
Excelsior  banner.  The,  161 
Excelsior  class,  t;8 
Every  officer  in  his  place,  60 

Fagot  Fire,  The,  238 

First  Methodist  Church,  Akron, 
Ohio,  23 

Fisher,  Rev.  O.  D.,  267 

Flag,  34 

Flag  day,  160 

Flowers  for  Easter,  241 

Following  up  absentees,  125,  126 

Foster,  Dr.,  on  the  pastor  and 
school,  64 

Fox,  Prof.  E.  A.,  187 

Free  entertainments,  168 

Frowning  Superintendent,  The,  252 

Fundamental  lessons,  193 

Fundamental  lessons,  a  good 
course,  194 

Fundamental  lessons,  how  to  recog- 
nize the  work  done,  195 

Fundamental  lessons,  some  sugges- 
tions, 194,  195 

Fundamental  principles  of  giving, 
123 

Games,  the  use  of,  34 
Gang,  The,  215 

Getting  ready  for  Children's  Day, 
146 


272 


Index 


Giving,  an  act  of  worship,  133 
Giving,   a   sample   weekly   report, 

.^37 
Giving  Christmas,  The,  156 
Giving,  how  the  money  should  be 

used,  139 
Giving,   keep   no    record   of    indi- 
vidual amounts,  136 
Giving,  should  be  dignified,  140 
Giving,  should  be  generous,  138 
Giving,  should  be  independent,  135 
Giving,  should  be  regular,  133,  134 
Giving,  should  be  systematic,  133 
Glass  blackboard.  A,  245 
Glover,    Rev.    Richard,   on   lesson 

helps,  88 
"  Go — I  am  with  you,"  218 
Good  books  for  the  pastor,  260 
Good  books  on  blackboard  work, 

259 
Good   books   on    organization   and 

history,  253 
Good  books  on  primary  work,  256, 

257 
Good  books  on  religious  education, 

254 
Good     books    on    Sunday    School 

management,  254 
Good  citizenship  day,  160 
Good  use  for  a  globe,  248 
Good  use  for  pictures.  A,  248 
Grading,  a  continuous  process,  49 
Grading,  a  practical  system,  45 
Grading  a  pivotal  point,  49 
Grading,  definition,  45 
Grading,  five  essentials,  45 
Grading,  how  one  school  did  it,  52, 

53 

Grading,  in  the  public  schools,  49 

Grading,  names  of  departments,  45, 
46 

Grading  new  scholars,  52 

Grading  not  dependent  on  build- 
ing. 44 

Grading  process,  The,  51 

(trading  possible,  44 

Grading  sometimes  slow  process,  52 

Grading  through  supplemental 
work,  47 

Guest  book.  The,  79 


Hamill,  Prof.  H.  M.,  D.  D.,  93 

lielper,  our  church  paper,  The,  79, 

Helpful  books  for  the  superintend- 
ent, 259 

Highest  officer,  The,  81 

Hillis,  W.  A.,  226 

Historian,  The,  39 

Home  dejjartment,  The,  46,  25 1 

Honouring  the  heroes,  243 

Honouring  the  old,  249 

How  to  begin  to  grade  a  school,  51 

How  to  celebrate  Easter,  145 

How  to  decorate  the  church,  145 

How  to  decorate  for  Rally  Day,  147 

How  to  file  clippings,  247 

How  to  get  teachers,  240 

How  to  get  the  boys,  228 

How  to  govern,  56 

How  to  hold  your  members,  119 

How  to  keep  up  summer  attend- 
ance, 165,  166 

How  to  look  up  absentees,  219,  220 

How  to  make  announcements,  240 

How  to  make  the  most  out  of  Pro- 
motion Day,  149 

How  to  make  your  school  grow, 
124 

How  to  organize  a  class  of  young 
men,  170 

How  to  prepare,  86 

How  to  read  the  lesson,  59 

How  to  receive  new  members,  129 

How  to  review  the  lesson,  60,  61 

How  to  secure  new  members,  119 

How  to  secure  order,  54 

How  to  select  a  name  for  organized 
class,  173 

How  to  use  the  Sunday  School 
money,  139 

How  to  treat  visitors,  79 

Hudson,  Mr.  M.  A.,  172 

Hunting  books,  252 

Hunting  the  weak  spots,  248 

Huntington,  Faye,  251 

Hyacmlh  Sunday,  242 

Hymns  appropriate  for  installation, 
114,  117 

Illustrations,  188,  189, 190 


Index 


273 


Illustrated  papers,  how  to  use  them, 
249 

Imaginary  tour,  An,  102,  103 

Improving  the  choir,  252 

Installation  day,  150 

Installation  of  officers  and  teachers, 
112 

Installation  service,  113,  117 

Intermediate  department,  46 

Interest  in  messenger  boys,  216, 
217 

International  Bible  Reading  Asso- 
ciation, The,  252 

International  Sunday  School  Asso- 
ciation, 65,  86 

Jacobs,  B.  F.,  119 
Jenkins,  Rev.  Josiah  H.,  266 
Junior  department,  46 

Keep  close  to  the  boys,  233 
Kirby,  Miss  Eleanor,  238 
Know^  the  boys,  232,  233 
Kris  Kringle,  153 

Lack  of  authority,  44 

Lack  of  sympathy,  236 

Lap  blackboards,  28 

Large  summer  attendance.  A,  165 

Lawrence,  Leslie  C,  164 

Layman's  opportunity.  The,  19 

Leaf-cluster,  a  good  use  for  it,  244 

Leaflets,  etc.,  how  distributed,  76 

Lecturer's  crayon,  107 

Lecture  Course,  A,  167,  168 

Lesson  helps,  their  use  and  abuse, 

252 
Lesson  helps,  how  to  use,  17 
Lesson  helps,  their  use,  88 
Lesson  in  persistency.  A,  122 
Lesson  of  the  penny.  The,  138 
Lesson  period,  The,  59 
Lesson  preparation,  arranging  the 

matter,  88 
Lesson    preparation,    begin    early, 

why,  89 
Lesson    preparation,    gather    your 

material,  86,  87 
Lesson  preparation,  link  lessons  to- 
gether, 88 


Lesson  preparation,  should  be  co- 
pious, why,  90 

Lesson  preparation,  should  be 
prayerful,  91 

Lesson  preparation,  study  daily, 
why,  89 

Lesson  preparation,  the  fish  hook 
and  the  harpoon,  89 

Lesson  preparation,  the  time  limit, 
90 

Lesson  review.  The,  60 

Librarian,  The,  76 

Library,  circulating,  32 

Library  for  classes.  The,  172 

Library  for  teachers,  31 

Library,  general,  31 

Library,  how  to  maintain  interest. 

Library,  how  to  select  books,  31 
Library,  when  and  how  to  operate, 

32 
Library,  where  to  find  books,  32 
Life  of  Christ,  The,  30 
Limited  membership,  123,  124 
Love  the  boys,  236 


Machinery,  should  be  invisible,  36 
Mann,   Pres.    Horace,  on  how  to 

get  teachers,  18 
Maps,  24 

Marking  system.  A,  41 
McCabe,  Bishop  C.  C.,  135 
McC lure's  Magazine,  138 
Memory  verses,  58 
Memorizing  Scripture,  248 
Men  teachers  for  boys,  234 
Messenger  Cadets,  The,  81 
Message  to  absent  scholars,  219 
Messenger  Cadets'  Red  Book,  216 
Method  of  receiving  new  members, 

73-74     ^ 
Methods  of  recognition,   128,  150, 

Miller,  Hon.  Lewis,  23 

Missionary  work,  247 

Missions    in    the    Sunday   School, 

helpful  books,  263 
Moore,  Mrs.  C.  H.,  169,  170 
Motto  Prayer,  A,  57 


274 


Index 


Mullins,    Dr.    E.    Y.,   A    Sunday 

School  Creed,  65 
Mullius,  Dr.  E.  Y.,A  Definition,  20 
Music,  how  to  have  variety,  241 
Musical  instruments,  20,  24 
My  former  pastors,  265 

Names  of  departments,  53 

Nest  egg,  The,  239 

Mew  member,  sign  application,  73 

New  member,  how  classified,  74 

New  members  should  not  be  taken 

from  other  schools,  246 
New  Year's  Reception,  142,  143 
No  interruptions,  60 
"  No  Place  for  the  Boys,"  a  poem, 

230 
No  summer  vacation,  166 

Objects,  clothespin  angels,  180 
Objects  may  be  real  or  imaginary, 

179 
Objects  often  abused,  179 
Object   teaching   approved   in   the 

Bible,  181 
Object  teaching  approved  in  secular 

teaching,  181 
Object  teaching  efficient,  180 
Object  teaching  examples,  181 
Object  teaching  is  practical,  l8l 
Object  teaching  scientific,  180 
Offering  on  Rally  Day,  The,  148 
Officers,  43 

Officers  and  their  duties,  70 
Officers'  furniture,  26 
Omitters,  The,  137 
Orchestra,  24 

Organization,  definition,  36 
Oriental  articles,  33 
Oriental  objects,  246 
"  Our  Aim,"  57 
"Our  Church  Home,"  128 
Our  "  Love  Circle,"  131 
Our  motto,  57 
Our  school  salute,  128 
Our  watchword,  57 

Parents'  Day,  160 
Partitions,  movable,  22 
Passing  through  the  arches,  151 


Pastor  and  the  teacher.  The,  65 
Pastor  and  superintendent,  The,  63 
Pastor  and  teacher  training,  The,  64 
Pastor,  his  influence  over  the  school. 

The,  65 
Pastor,    his     opportunity     in     the 

school,  The,  64 
Pastor,  his  relation  to  the  Sunday 

School,  The,  63 
Pastor,  his  responsibility,  The,  63, 

64 
Pastor,  in  the  Sunday  School,  The, 

Pastor's  relation  to  the  superin- 
tendent. The,  64 

Pastor's  salute,  The,  128 

Pastor,  good  books.  The,  260 

Patmore,  Coventry,  236 

Paton,  Dr.  John  G.,  198 

Patriotic  Day,  160 

Patriotism,  34 

Pearse,  Rev.  Mark  Guy,  237 

Pedagogy,  a  knowledge  of,  84 

Peloubet,  Rev.  F.  N.,  D.  D.,  119, 
228 

Percentage  of  attendance  to  enroll- 
ment, 166 

Perry,  Geo.  P.,  30,  108 

Personal  invitation,  119 

Philathea  Class,  The,  172 

Picnics,  173,  174 

Picnics,  a  new  kind,  174,  175 

Picture  guess  review.  The,  184 

Pledge  cards,  how  to  use  them,  199, 
200 

Potts,  Rev.  John,  D.  D.,  113,  117 

Practical  help,  127 

Prayer  chain,  The,  186 

Prayer  for  the  sick,  60 

Prayer  over  the  offering,  60 

Presbyterian  Church,  East  Liberty, 
Pa.,  25 

Pressed  flowers,  246 

Preview  and  the  review,  The,  246 

Price  of  grading,  The,  52 

Primary  Department,  46 

Primary  and  Junior  books,  256,  257 

Printer's  ink  a  good  use,  1 20,  121 

Printed  invitation,  120,  121 

Prizes  or  rewards,  which,  162 


Index 


275 


Process  of  lesson  preparation,  86, 

87 

Promotion,  change  of  seats,  50 

Promotion  Day,  149 

Promotion  Day  should  be  promi- 
nent, 50 

Promotions,  when  and  how,  50 

Proper  reports,  60 

Private  class  cards,  245 

Psychology,  a  knowledge  of,  84 

Public  graduation,  245 

Public  reception  to  new  members, 
129 

Pupil  training  work,  193 

Purpose  of  Rally  Day,  The,  147 

Purpose  of  the  review,  The,  61 

Quarterly  Teachers'  Meeting, 
The,  no 

Raikes,  Robert,  15 

Rally  Day,  147 

Reading  room,  A,  33 

Reading  room,  how  to  conduct.  A, 

33 
Reading  the  lesson,  250 
Reception  class,  49 
Reception  hymn,  A,  132 
Reception  service,  A,  130,  131,  132 
Recognition  of  faithfulness,  161 
Recognizing  home  study,  243 
Records,  comprehensive,  compara- 
tive, 39 
Record  of  birthdays,  76 
Records,  what  to  keep,  39 
Red  and  blue  contest,  122,  123 
Redeeming  New  Year's  Day,  143 
Regiilar  promotions,  49,  50 
Relief  maps,  29,  30 
Relief  map  of  Palestine,  108 
Remember  denominational  benevo- 
lences, 140 
Repetition,  its  value,  95 
Reports  to  the  parents,  241 
Rewards  for  Bible  reading,  244 
Reynolds,  William,  23 
Robert    Raikes   Alumni    Diploma, 

152,  163,  164 
Robert  Raikes  Diploma,   151,  152, 
162,  164 


Robert  Raikes  Diploma,  its  cumu- 
lative value,  163 


Sample  illustrations,  188,  190,  191 
Samples  of  printed  invitations,  120, 

121 
Sample  program,  A,  56 
Sample  Treasurer's  report,  137 
Sand  map,  29 

Sand  map,  how  to  make,  29 
Sargeant,  Horatio  L.,  testimonial, 

85 

Santa  Claus,  153 

Scattergood  Calendar,  143 

Schauffler,  Rev.  A.  F.,  D.  D.,  185 

Scholars'  records,  41 

Scholars  should  not  be  classified  by 
the  teacher,  49 

Scholars  should  not  classify  them- 
selves, 49 

School  a  home.  The,  128 

School  colours,  249 

School  flower.  A,  249 

School  honours.  The,  161 

School  meets  every  Sunday  in  the 
year,  166 

School  stationery,  252 

Scrooby  Club,  The,  169 

Scroobys,  The,  157 

Seals  and  buttons,  163 

Seating,  The,  26 

Seating,  chairs,  26 

Second  United  Presbyterian  Church, 
Chicago,  47 

Secretary,  The,  71 

Secretary,  character  of  his  reports, 
The,  71 

Secretaij's  weekly  record,  39,  40 

Secretary's  weekly  record,  what  it 
should  include,  40 

Seed  sowing  service.  The,  145 

Seminary  and  the  Sunday  School, 
The,  65 

Sentence  prayers,  250 

Session,  previous  planning  neces- 
sary. The,  54 

Session  program,  The,  56 

Session  program,  opening  exercise, 
The,  56 


276 


Index 


Session  program,  signal  for  begin- 
ning, The,  56 
Session  program,  show  of  Bibles, 

The,  57 
Sheldon,  Rev.  Chas.  M.,  D.  D.,  236 
Shepherding  the  converts,  212 
Signals  for  reassembling,  60 
Signals  should  be  few,  55 
Silent  sermons,  244 
Sliding  partitions,  24 
Social  gatherings,  173 
Social  side,  The,  170,  171,  172 
Some  principles  in  teaching,  93 
Song  books,  30 

Southern  Baptist  Theological  Sem- 
inary, 20 
Special  exercises,  142 
Spiritual  work,  helpful  books,  259 
Star  classes,  57,  161 
Stenographer,  The,  78 
Stevens,   Mrs.   Zillah    Foster,    198, 

203 
Suggestions  to  a  superintendent,  283 
Suitable  Sunday  School  prayers,  59 
Sunday  School,  The,  15 
Sunday  School  as  a  church  service. 

The,  17 
Sunday    School,    a     development, 

The,  IS 
Sunday  School  a  field.  The,  18 
Sunday  school  a  force,  The,  18 
Sunday  School  a  school.  The,  25 
Sunday  School,   all  should  be   in. 

The,  47 
Sunday  School,  average  size  in  the 

United  States,  The,  44 
Sunday  School,  a  teaching  service. 

The,  18 
Sunday  School  baseball  clubs,  247 
Sunday  School  building,  The,  21 
Sunday    School     building,    Akron 

Plan,  The,  23 
Sunday  School  building,  beautified, 

The,  23 
Sunday     School     building,     class 

rooms.  The,  25,  26 
Sunday     School     building,     main 

room,  The,  24 
Sunday    School     by    departments, 

The,  45,  46 


Sunday  School  Cabinet,  68 

Sunday  School  choir,  250 

Sunday  School  comparatively  new, 

The,  15 
Sunday     School     compared     with 

other  organizations.  The,  15 
Sunday      School      controlled      by 

church,  The,  19 
Sunday  School  creed.  A,  65 
Sunday  School,  a  definition,  17 
Sunday  School  enjoying  itself.  The, 

167 
Sunday  School,  department  rooms, 

The,  24 
Sunday  School  equipped.  The,  21 
Sunday  School,  finances.  The,  137 
Sunday  School,  firing  line,  The,  65 
Sunday  School,  for  all  ages.  The, 

17.  19 

Sunday  School,  for  old  and  young. 

The,  19 
Sunday     School,    for     the     whole 

church.  The,  17 
Sunday  School,  giving,  The,  138 
Sunday  School,  graded.  The,  44 
Sunday  School,  how  to  seat.  The,  26 
Sunday  School,  its  aim.  The,  19 
Sunday  School,  its  equipment.  The, 

18 
Sunday  School,  its  importance.  The, 

16 
Sunday  School  in  session.  The,  54 
Sunday  School  loyal  to  the  church. 

The,  19 
Sunday  School  loyal  to  the  denomi- 
nation. The,  19 
Sunday  School  lasts  all  the  week, 

The,  62 
Sunday  School  management,  help- 
ful books,  254,  255 
Sunday  School,  not  an  institution, 

The,  16 
Sunday     School,      not     children's 

church,  The,  16 
Sunday    School,    not    founded    by 

Raikes,  The,  15 
Sunday  School,  not  the  nursery  of 

the  churcli.  The,  16 
Sunday    School,    not    understood. 

The,  16 


Index 


277 


Sunday  School  organized,  The,  36 
Sunday  School  program,  The,  242 
Sunday  School  room,  how  to  build, 

The,  23 
Sunday  School    room,    not   in    the 

basement.  The,  23 
Sunday  School,  should  have  trained 

teachers.  The,  18 
Sunday  School  teaching,  its  prime 

purpose,  95,  96 
Sunday  School,  an  ideal  building. 

The,  22 
Sunday  School  Times,  The,  22 
Sunday  School  training  ground,  19 
Sunday    School,    uniform    nomen- 
clature. The,  53 
Superintendent,  The,  66 
Superintendent's  aides.  The,  80 
Superintendent    a    church    officer, 

The,  66 
Superintendent  as  a  teacher.  The,  68 
Superintendent    and   good   citizen- 
ship, The,  68 
Superintendent    and    his    cabinet, 

The,  68 
Superintendent,  an  ideal.  The,  69 
Superintendent   and    the    teachers' 

meeting,  The,  103 
Superintendent  during  class  time, 

The,  248 
Superintendent,  good  books,  The, 

259 
Superintendent,  his  daily  life,  The, 

68 
Superintendent,   his   qualifications, 

The,  66,  67 
Superintendent's   note   book.  The, 

Superintendent     of     classification. 

The,  48,  73 
Superintendent  of  enrollment.  The, 

75  . 

Superintendent's  record  book.  The, 

239 

Superintendent  selecting  teachers. 
The,  67 

Superintendent  should  choose  other 
officers.  The,  66,  67 

Superintendent  should  have  pro- 
gram well  in  hand,  The,  55 


Superintendent  should  have  under- 
studies. The,  71 

Superintendent  should  keep  close  to 
his  teachers,  The,  244 

Sujierintendent  should  think  ahead, 
Tlie,  245 

Superintendent's  suggestions  to 
himself,  A,  238 

Supplemental  lessons,  193 

Supplemental  lessons,  their  place  in 
grading,  193 

Supplemental  work,  47 

Supplemental  work,  its  proper 
place,  48 

Supplies,  how  kept,  76 

Supply  teacher  secretary,  76,  78 

Supply  teachers,  how  secured,  78 

Supreme  need,  The,  65 

System  of  marking,  41,  42 

Systematic  giving,  133 

Stick  to  the  program,  251 

Study  the  advertisements,  251 

Tabernacle  Baptist  Sunday 

School,  Raleigh,  N,  C,  122 
Tact,  233 

Talking  to  the  children,  227 
Tardiness,  how  overcome,  42 
Teach  a  little,  well,  95 
Teacher,  The,  81 
Teacher  and  his  work,  The,  83 
Teacher,  books  that  help.  The,  260, 

261 
Teacher,  how  appointed.  The,  81 
Teacher  preparing.  The,  83 
Teacher  should  have  a  passion  for 

souls,  The,  85 
Teacher   should   have   large  faith, 

The,  85 
Teacher  teaching,  The,  91,  92 
Teacher   training   class,   its  value. 

The,  86 
Teacher  training  department,  The, 

Teacher  training,  good  books.  The, 

263 
Teacher  training  class,  The,  240 
Teacher's  diplomas,  18 
Teacher's  general  preparation,  The, 

83 


278 


Index 


Teachers'  library,  Appendix  "  B  " 
Teacher's  manner,  The,  92 
Teachers'  records,  The,  41 
Teachers'  retreat,  The,  31 
Teacher's  rights,  The,  60,  249 
Teachers  should  be  trained,  18 
Teachers    should    not   enroll    new 

scholars,  49 
Teachers'  specific  preparation,  The, 

86 
Teacher  training  class,  importance 

of.  The,  1 8 
Teachers'  meeting.  The,  97 
Teachers'    meeting,  a  good  defini- 
tion. The,  104 
Teachers'  meeting,  definite  time,  100 
Teachers'  meeting  equipment,  99, 

107 
Teachers'    meeting,    real    purpose. 

The,  98 
Teachers'    meeting    for   officers   as 

well  as  teachers,  The,  99 
Teachers'     meeting,     fundamental 

features,  100 
Teachers'    meeting,    how    conduct, 

The,  100 
Teachers'  meeting,  how  to  set  the 

teachers  to  work,  The,  105,  106 
Teachers'   meeting,  how  to  secure 

attendance.  The,  109 
Teachers'  meeting,  methods  of  pre- 
senting the  lesson.  The,  104 
Teachers'   meeting  often   talked  to 

death,  The,  104 
Teachers'  meeting,  quarterly,  The, 

no 
Teachers'  meeting,  special  features, 

The,  loi 
Teachers'  meeting,  superintendent 

in  charge,  The,  103 
Teachers'      meeting,      the     angle 

method,  The,  105,  lo6 
Teachers'       meeting,      variety      of 

methods.  The,  102,  103,  104,  105 
Teachers'  meeting,  who  should  at- 
tend, The,  108,  109 
Teachers'     meeting,    who     should 

teach  the  lesson.  The,  104 
Teachers'  meeting,  when  and  where, 

The,  99 


Teaching  process.  The,  92,  93 
Teaching  should  be  positive,  232 
Temperance,  a  good  object  lesson, 

201 
Temperance,  a  union  rally,  200 
Temperance  books,  202 
Temperance  committee,  242 
Temperance,  helpful  leaflets,  198 
Temperance  pledge,  The,  199 
Temperance,  positive  teaching,  199 
Temperance,  section  in  the  library, 

A,  202 
Temperance  songs,  202 
Temperance,   use    present  illustra- 
tions, 200 
Temperance  day,  and  how  to  use  it, 

197,  198 
Test  of  organization,  A,  125 
Thanksgiving  Day,  160 
Thomas,  Rev.  W.  H.  Griffith,  91 
Through  the  eye  to  the  heart,  179 
Transferring  members,  164,  165 
Transient  membership,  44 
Treasurer's  report,  41 
Trumbull,  Rev.  Henry  Clay,  D.  D,, 

15,  16,  63 
Tulip  Sunday,  241 

Unconverted,  where  found,  19 

United  States  Flag,  162 

Use  of  objects  in  leaching,  179 

Use  of  signals,  54 

Use  of  the  Bible  on  Decision  Day, 

The,  212 
Use  of  the  imagination,  184 
Ushers,  The,  79 
Utilizing  the  social  life,  177 

Value  of  conventions,  245 
Value  of  good  reading,  252 
Value  of  the  handshake,  62 
Value  of  a  note-book,  251 
Variety  in  the  program,  59,  241 
Visitors,  how  received  and  treated, 

.5.5 
Visiting  other  schools,  250 

Wall  maps,  28 
Welcoming  strangers,  79 
West,  Benjamin,  234 


Index 


279 


What  sympathy  did,  235 

Whistling  choir.  The,  246 

White,  Rev.  A.  B.,  266 

White  blackboard.  A,  245 

Winning  souls,  212 

Witnessing  day,  209 

Woman's     Christian     Temperance 

Union,  198 
Woodbury,  Dr.  Frank,  194 
Work  for  the  boys,  215,  219,  220 


World's  Temperance  Sunday,  200 
Word  of  warning,  A,  35 
Worker's  covenant.  A,  117 
Workers'  meeting.  The,  99 
Written  suggestions,  246 

Young  people's  department,  46 
Young  People's  Society,  251 

Zone  de  Prohibition,  199 


SUGGESTIVE  BOOKS 

For  Pastors,  Teachers 
and    all    others    who 

Work  Among  Children 


P&.stor&.l    Le^wdership   of  Sunddwy 
School  Forces 

A.  F,  ScHAUFFLER,  D.D.     Cloth,  net,  50c. 

Only  Buch  theories  and  practices  as  have  been  demonBtrated  suc- 
cessfully find  a  place  iu  this  treatment. 

The  Sund&.y  School  Tezwcher 

A  practical    manual.      Prof.   H.   M.   Hamill,  D.  D. 
New  edition,     jjt/i  thousand.     Cloth,  50c. 

Chswlk:  Whs^t  We  Ce^n  Do  With  It 

Practical  Work  with  C'halk  and  Blackboard.     Ella 
N.  Wood,     illustrated,  net,  75c. 

A  treatise  illnstratod  Iiy  pimple  yet  effective  drawings  that  any 
child  cannot  only  undci>iaii(l  but  reproduce.  The  great  value  of 
thi-book  lies  in  its  pirniilf  siiL'gesiiveness.  To  the  teacher  whose 
anistic  gifts  are  small,  this  is  a  U'easnre  trove. 

Studies  in  the  Art  of  Illustr&.tion 

Amos  R.  Wells.     Cloth,  net,  $1.25. 

From  the  street,  the  market,  the  office  and  the  home,  Mr.  Wells 
has  gathered  incidents  and  experiences  that  he  applies  with  rare 
skill  to  the  truth  of  the  Gospel. 


WORK    AMONG    CHILDREN 


The  Natural  Way 

Four  Modes  of  Nurture.  By  Patterson  Du  Bois, 
author  of  ' '  Beckonings  from  Little  Hands ;  "  ' '  The 
Point  of  Contact  in  Teaching."    Cloth,  net  $1.25. 

Thi8  book  is  a  novel  effort  to  show  by  many  fa^niliar  aspects  of 
life  how  the  laws  of  soul-nurture  parallel  those  of  bodily  nutrition 
and  how  they  are  to  be  applied  in  the  spiritual  hrijicue  of  character- 
g^-owiiig.  Thus  the  treatment  covers  all  the  great  laws  of  education 
without  talking  dry  pedagogy  and  is  workable  because  natural.  It 
is  full  of  interesting  matter  to  any  one  given  to  the  study  of  life. 

The  Pedagogical  Bible  School 

By  S.  B.  Haslktt.  With  au  introduction  by  Presi- 
dent G.  Stanley  Hall.     i2mo,  cloth,  net  $1.25. 

This  book  ia  a  response  to  the  increasing  demaiid  for  more  scien- 
tific methods  of  teaching  in  the  Bible  School.  The  science  of  peda- 
gogy has  made  tremendous  strides  in  the  last  decade  and  to  many 
earnest  and  capable  leaders  it  is  evident  that  the  methods  in  vogue 
in  the  Bible  Schools  are  in  urgent  need  of  reform  if  the  Bibl(^  te;inh- 
in(  is  to  be  abreast  of  the  times.  The  author  has  made  a  scientific 
study  of  the  history,  condition  and  needs  of  the  Sunday  school,  nnd 
makes  practical  application  of  thorough  pedagogical  training  to  the 
subject  of  Bible  teaching. 

The  Teacher  and  the  Child 

Elements  of  moral  and  religious  teaching  in  the  day 
school,  the  home,  and  the  Sunday  school.  With 
an  introduction  lay  Patterson  Du  Bois.  By  H. 
Thiselton  Mark.     i2mo,  cloth,  net  75c. 

"Mr.  Mark  has  handled  this  difficult  task  so  as  to  be  suggestive 
to  the  '  initiated  few '  for  whom  he  does  not  write,  as  well  as  in- 
structive to  the  '  interested  many  '  lor  whom  he  does  write.  The 
'suggestions  and  illustrations' at  the  close  of  each  chapter  have  a 
Liit.nctive  training  value  of  tiieir  own,  since  they  call  for  thiiikiiis: 
and  choosing.  Professor  Mark  is  not  only  learned  in  pedagogical 
theory;  he  is  a  man  of  large  onservation  and  experience,  and,  better 
still,  a  man  of  instinct  and  insight.  He  has  a  grip  on  the  whole 
human  nature,  a  sense  of  the  world's  hunger."— i^r(??w  the  introduc- 
tion by  Patterson  Du  Bois. 

Sundays  and  Week  Days  vrith 
Children 

Verses,  Proverbs  and  Hymns  for  children  in  the 
home  or  school.  By  Virginia  J.  Kent.  Introduc- 
tion by  Lucy  Rider  Meyer.     i2mo,  cloth,  net  75c. 


^ORK  AMONG  CHILDREN 


Practical  Primary  Plans 

Illustrated  with  diagrams.  Revised  and  enlarged. 
By  Israel  P.  Black.     i6mo,  cloth,  net  $i.oo. 

Progressive  Sunday  school  teachers  have  found  Mr.  Black's  plane, 
as  the  title  indicates,  ''Practical."  It  has  received  unstinted  praise 
from  every  part  of  our  country,  as  a  helper  that  helps.  Shortly 
before  his  death  Mr.  Black  revised  and  enlarged  the  book,  bringing 
it  completely  up  to  date.  Every  phase  of  primary  work  is  dealt 
with,  preparation,  teaching,  illustrating;  singing,  finances,  closing 
with  an  appendix  that  is  an  invaluable  guide  to  all  the  best  helps 
and  literature  on  the  work  of  primary  teaching. 

Sunday  School  Success 

By  Amos  R.  Wells.     i2mo,  cloth,  gilt  top,  $1.25. 

"We  shall  publicly  and  privately  nrge  every  teacher  and  worker 
in  America  to  purchase  and  study  'Sunday  School  Success,'  for  it 
will  make  success  to  take  the  place  of  failure." — International 
Evangel. 

Three  Years  with  the  Children 

Or  three  times  fifty-two  five-minute  sermons.  By 
Amos  R.  Wells.     lamo,  cloth,  $1.25. 

"There  is  a  wide  range  alike  of  subjects  and  of  methods,  furnish- 
ing abundant  and  suggestive  models  for  all  sorts  of  addresses  to 
children,  blackboard   talks,  object  lessons,    conversations,   etc." 

— Baptist  Union. 

Bible  Lessons  for  Little 
Beginners 

By  Mrs.  Margaret  J.  Cushman  Haven.  A  two  years' 
course.  Vol.  I.  Fifty -two  lessons,  comprising  the 
first  year's  course.  lamo,  cloth,  net  75c.  Vol.  II. 
Fifty-two  lessons,  comprising  the  second  year's 
course.     i2mo,  cloth,  net  75c, 

After  the  Primary,  What? 

By  A.  H.  McKiNNEY,  12mo,  cloth,  net  76c.  9 

Makes  nse  of  the  latest  results  of  psychological  research  and 
pedagogical  experiment  in  answering  this  question  and  hnn- 
dreds  of  others  that  naturally  grow  out  of  it. 


WORK   AMONG    CHILDREN 


Attractive  Truths 
in  Lesson,  and 
Story 

By  Mrs.  A.  M.  Scudder.  Intro- 
duction by  Rev.  F.  E.  Clark, 
D.  D.  ^th  thousand.  8vo, 
cloth,  $1.25. 

A  series  of  outline  lessons,  with  illustra- 
tive stories,  for  Junior  Christian  Endeavor 
Societies,  Children's  Meetings,  and  Home 
Teaching. 

"This  book  occupies  a  new  field,  and 
occupies  it  well.  No  other  book  in  the 
language,  so  far  as  we  know,  has  ever  attempted  jnst  this  task. 
There  is  nothing  weak  or  puerile  about  the  book,  but  there  is  a 
wealth  of  information  and  suggestion  of  which  thousands  of 
workers  among  the  children  will  avail  themselves.  We  commend 
it  most  cordially." — Golden  Rvle. 

Object  Lessons   for   Children 

Or,  Hooks  and  Eyes,  Trtith  Linked  to  Sight.     By  C. 
H.    Tyndall.      Illustrated.      ^d  edition.      i2mo, 

cloth,  $1.25. 

"  The  Thirty-nine  object  lessons  or  sermons  it  contains  are  not 
merely  well  selected  but  admirably  executed  also.  The  language  is 
simple,  clear  and  forcible.  For  busy  pastors,  Sunday  school  super- 
inttmdents  and  others,  we  know  no  better  work  of  its  kind." — CuiU' 

tcHnnd  Presbyterian. 

The  Children's  Prayer 

Addresses  to  the  young  on  the  Lord's  Prayer.     By 
Rev.  James  Wells,  D.  D.     i6mo,  cloth,  75c. 

"The  author  does  what  preachers  to  children  often  fail  to  do." — 
S.  8.  Tinux. 

Eighty  Good  Times  0\it  of 
Doors 

By  Lillian  M.  Heath,  the  author  of  "  Eighty  Pleas- 
ant Evenings."     i2mo,  cloth,  illustrated,  net,  75c. 

"The  games  come  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  the  old-fash- 
ioned favorites  of  our  childhood  arc  mixed  with  foreign  games.  It 
is  ills),  the  thing  for  workers  among  childi-en,  and  the  question, 
'  What  shall  we  play  nexty  '  will  fin<l  a  ready  response  in  tnis  help- 
ful volume."—  Christian  Intelligencer. 


WORK  AMONG  CHILDREN 


Children's 
Meetings, 

And  How  to  Conduct  Them.  By 
Lucy  J.  Rider  and  Nellie  JVl. 
Carman.  With  Lessons,  Out- 
lines, Diagrams,  Music  and 
Helpful  Suggestions.  Intro- 
duction by  Bishop  J.  H.  Vin- 
cent, gth  thousand.  i2mo, 
cloth,  net,  $i.oo.  paper,  net, 
50C. 

"  It  evidently  aims  to  teach  the  leader  to  tallc  with  children  rather 
than  to  them;  to  encourage  the  memorizing  of  Bible  verses,  and  to 
malie  use  of  the  lessons  from  nature  as  did  the  Master.  Sunday 
school  teachers  as  well  as  the  leaders  of  children's  meetings  may 
find  here  many  useful  hints." — The  Golden  Eule. 

fbject  Lessons  for  Junior 
Work 

By  Mrs.  Ella  N.  Wood.     i6mo,  cloth,  50c. 

"  This  is  one  of  those  practical  little  volumes  so  valuable  to  work- 
ers in  this  line.  The  object  of  the  booli  is  to  bring  to  Junior  Super- 
intendents an  idea  of  making  and  using  object  lessons  which  ar6 
simple  in  construction,  and  which  will  come  within  the  means  of 
every  Junior  Society.  It  is  just  the  book  for  which  the  Junior 
Superintendents  have  been  asking.  A  child  cannot  remember  a  talk 
or  a  sermon,  but  he  will  remember  an  object,  and  the  lessons  that 
the  object  taught." — Christian  World.- 

Our  CKildren  for  Christ 

A  Series  of  Catechetical  Lessons  on  the  Religion  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  By  Rev.  Doremus  Scuddkr. 
i6mo,  paper,  net,  loc. 


Sundays  and  Week  Days  witK 
CKildren 

Verses,   Proverbs  and  Hymns  for  children  in  the 
home  or  school.     By  Virginia  J.  Kent.     Introduc- 
"  tion  by  Lucy  Rider  Meyer.     lamo,  cloth,  aet  75c. 


WORK    AMONG    CHlJLDR£.rS 


The  Child  for  Christ 

A  manual  for  parents,  pastors  and  Sunday  school 
workers.  Introduction  by  A.  F.  Schauffler.  By 
Rev.  A.  H.  McKiNNEY,  Ph.  D.     Cloth,  net  50c. 

Parental  and  Sunday  school  "  teaching  "  that  ends  with  the  acqui- 
sition of  Bible  facts,  and  even  of  moral  principles,  is  not  enough. 
The  children  need  guidance  and  training  to  discipieship;  they  need 
to  be  led  to  a  positive  decision.  The  book  conies  out  of  long  and 
varied  experience  as  pastor,  superintendent  and  the  counsellor  of  a 
multitude  of  earnest  woikers.  It  vi'as  VFritten  because  of  a  need  and 
a  demand.  Brief,  pointed,  practical,  it  appeals  specially  to  parents, 
pastors  and  Sunday  school  workers. 

SxindoLy     School     Teatcher's 
Norma^l  Co\irse 

By  George  W.  Pease.  First  series ;  Old  Testament 
Second  series ;  New  Testament.  Each,  paper,  net 
25c. ;  cloth,  net  50c. 

"By  long  experience  as  an  instructor,  the  author  was  amply  fitted 
to  write.  Besides  the  teacher's  course  of  Bible  study,  extending  over 
two  years,  it  contains  valuable  suggestions  to  leaders;  also  chapters 
on  Child-nature,  The  Laws  of  Teaching  and  Art  of  Questioning  and 
Llustrating."— yA^  Lutheran  Obsei-ver. 

The  Teatcher  aL.nd  the   Clatss 

A  symposium  on  Sunday  school  teaching.  By  Rev. 
J.  R.  Miller,  D.D..  Rev.  R.  F.  Horton,  D.D., 
Ralph  Wells  and  others.     i6mo,  cloth,  50c. 


SxindoLy   School    Movements 
in  AmericaL 

By  Marianna  C.  Brown.     i2mo,  cloth,  $1.25. 

•'A  valuable  historical  work  which  may  well  find  a  place  on  the 
shelves  of  any  pastor,  Sunday  school  superintendent  or  Sunday 
school  worker." — Journal  and  Messenger. 

The  Modern  Superintendent 
a^nd  His  Work 

By  J.  R.  Peppkr.    i6mo,  paper.  19c. 


The   Home   and   Children 


Child  Culture  in  the  Home.   By  Martha  B.  Mosher."'i2mo, 
cloth,  Si.oo. 

"  Rarely  has  so  helpful  a  book  on  the  moral  education  of  children 
appeared.  The  emotions,  the  senses,  tlic  will,  as  well  as  the  train- 
ing of  the  habits  of  the  child  and  methods  of  training,  are  all  con- 
sidered."—  The  Outlook. 

"  It  is  written  in  a  clear,  straightforward  manner,  is  rich  in  sug- 
gestions and  illustrations,  and  is  thoroughly  wholesome  in  counsel." 
— Cumberland  l^resbyterian. 

Studies  in  Home  and  Child-Life.    By  Mrs.  S.  M.  I,  Henry. 

Eighth  ihoiisand,  i2mo,  cloth,  $i.oo. 

"  It  is  clear,  concise  and  vigorous  throughout,  and  has  the  charm 
of  Mother  love  and  God  love  from  first  to  last.  We  cannot  conceive 
of  a  more  helpful  manual  than  this  would  be  in  the  hands  of  young 
parents,  and  indeed  of  all  who  have  to  do  with  children."— -TA^ 
Union  Signal. 

"  The  book  is  one  we  can  heartily  commend  to  every  father  and 
mother  to  read  and  re-read,  and  ponder  over  and  read  again." —  The 
Observer. 

Child  Culture  j  or,  The  Science  of  Motherhood.    By  Mrs. 

Hannah  Whitall  Smith,    ^d    edition^    i6mo,    decorated 

boards,  30  cents. 

"  We  have  read  nothing  from  the  pen  of  this  gifted  woman  which 
we  have  more  enjoyed  than  this  wisely-written  booklet,  as  spiritual 
as  it  is  practical,  and  as  full  of  common  sense  as  of  exalted  sentiment. 
Any  mother  having  prayerfully  read  this  heart  message  of  a  true 
woman  will  be  a  better  motheT."— Cumberland  Presbyterian. 

The  Children  for  Christ.     By  Rev.  Andrew  Murray,  D.  D. 

Thoughts  for  Christian  Parents  on  the  Consecration  of  the 

Home  Life.     lamo,  cloth,  $1.00. 

"  The  author  seems  to  have  had  a  Divine  vocation  in  writing 
this  book,  and  thousands  of  parents  ought  to  derive  blessings  from 
it  for  their  children." — The  Evangelist. 

Home  Duties.     Practical  Talks  on  the  Amenities  of  the 

Home.     By  Rev.  R.  T.  Cross.     i2mo,  paper,  15  cents; 

cloth,  30  cents,  net. 

Contents:    Duties  of   Husbands.     Duties  of  Wives.     Duties 

of  7"iirents.     Duties  of  Children.     Duties  of  Brothers  and  Sisters. 

The  Duty  of  Family  Worship.    The  Method  of  Family  Worship. 

A  Home  for  Every  Family  and  How  to  Get  It. 

"A  model  of   what  can  be  done  in  so  brief  a  space."— r^^ 
Independent. 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company 

New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue        Chicago:  63  Washington  Street 
Toronto:  zy  Richmond  Street,  W. 


Date  Due 

w  t    ^ 

1 

^ 

Ap  1  4 

..^^dMBP' 

■TTT-_^^r,;i  1^ 

-^^g-%^ %-Sf     l<i»W>w 



1 

9 

